ran Warns Vacationers Against Foreign Spy Agencies

March 19, 2018

Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence has warned Nowrouz travelers, especially those going abroad, against being approached by foreign spy agencies. It has asked international travelers to report any incidents immediately to the appropriate security officials upon returning to Iran. The ministry insists that the measure is not meant to entrap but rather to assist Iranian citizens.

An unnamed counterintelligence officer within the Ministry of Intelligence told ISNA (Iranian Students News Agency): “Foreign spy agencies identify potential human assets by probing deep into their personal lives and backgrounds. They look for vulnerabilities such as the desire to emigrate, study abroad, financial difficulties, social disadvantages, cultural alienation, grudges against the regime and sexual attitudes and behaviors.”

“The most common tactic for gathering information is to approach workers, employees, and staff at embassies, travel agencies, hotels, and restaurants. They also use information available on cyberspace. Holidaymakers only need their passports and no other document to travel abroad. They should leave all other documents such as driver licenses, birth certificates, bank cards, and employment IDs at home,” the unidentified source added.

The unnamed officer advised travelers to “clear the browser history on their cell phones, tablets and laptops before leaving the country. Foreign agents use this information to entrap their unsuspecting victims. They confiscate these devices at airports and download all the information.”

This security official warned Iranian citizens: “If detained or arrested on foreign soil do not sign any statement and instead contact the Embassy or Consulate General of the Islamic Republic in that country. Iranians who are tricked or coerced into cooperating with foreign spy agencies must inform the Ministry of Intelligence immediately upon returning home.”

“Many Iranians are living abroad who, at one time, were entrapped by foreign intelligence services. They sought help from the appropriate Iranian authorities, and are currently living peaceful and ordinary lives. Those who have been cooperating with foreign spies should know that they have not burned their bridges [with their homeland]. They can go back at any time and change their paths. The Ministry of Intelligence’s mission is to protect and assist Iranian citizens and not to trap them,” the anonymous source explained.

The truth is that security agencies in Iran do not assist but rather arrest citizens. In all likelihood foreign counterintelligence organizations either already know or are uninterested in any information ordinary citizens could give them about the regime. It seems that the warning is not meant for average Iranians, but for officials who are privy to sensitive information and state secrets. After all, those are the people who can afford to travel abroad given the high currency exchange rate. 

A couple of examples come to mind. One is Seyyed Hossein Mousavian, the former Iranian Ambassador to Germany (1990-97), who was accused in 2007 of allegedly giving classified information to European governments including the British Embassy. He received a short jail sentence and was eventually cleared of all charges. The other incident involved the theft of a laptop in 2009 which belonged to a senior nuclear scientist.

The unnamed counterintelligence officer warns against the use of sex by foreign agents to entrap citizens. What the officer fails to mention is corruption among the senior government officials. Brazilian police arrested an Iranian diplomat, Hekmatollah Qorbani, on child abuse allegations in 2012. Some parents at a local swimming pool accused him of fondling girls between the ages of 9 and 15. He was eventually expelled from Brazil.

The Internet and social media are plastered with poolside pictures of Sasha (Mohammad) Sobhani with naked women. Sasha is the son of Ahmad Sobhani, the former Iranian Ambassador to Venezuela.  

Meanwhile, two prominent Qoran reciters, Abdolreza Helali and Ruhollah Bahmani, arrested in 2017 on espionage charges, awaiting trial.

It would be worth asking the unnamed counterintelligence officer whether ordinary Iranians should worry about foreign spy agencies or about prominent figures such as Abdolrasoul Dorri-Esfahani, the adviser to the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who has been accused of espionage by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).