TEHERON, Iran (AP) — Iran on Monday announced the arrest of 17 Iranian citizens allegedly recruited by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to spy on nuclear and military targets. Most were sentenced to death, according to the authorities. The detensions have occurred in recent months, an Iranian intelligence agent said at a press conference in Tehran. Detainees worked in “sensitive locations” in military and nuclear facilities, he said.
He did not detail how many had received a death sentence or when the sentences were imposed. HELP US Click the Google News star and follow usThe news came as the nuclear deal between Iran and international powers crumble, and amid rising tensions in the Persian Gulf. The crisis began with US President Donald Trump’s decision to remove the United States from the Iran deal and increase sanctions on the country. The Iranian official did not give his name, although he was identified as director of the counter-espionage department of the Iranian Intelligence Ministry. This procedure is highly unusual in Iran, where officials often identify theself at press conferences. It is also rare for intelligence agents to appear in front of the media. The official claimed that none of the 17, who had supposedly received “sophisticated training,” had succeeded in their sabotage missions. Their spying missions included collecting information at the centres where they worked, conducting technical and intelligence activities, and transferring and installing monitoring devices, he noted. The CIA had promised detainees visas or jobs in the United States, he said. Some of the agents switched sides and are now working with their department “against the United States,” he said. He also handed out a record with a video tap of an alleged foreign spy working for the CIA. The album also included the names of several us bass office employees in Turkey, India, Zimbabwe and Austria, which Iran said were in contact with recruited Iranian spies. The U.S. government made no comment on this at first.
Iran occasionally announces spies who it says work for other countries, such as the United States and Israel. Last June, he executed a former Ministry of Defense employee, convicted of spying for the CIA.
Tehran said in April that he has discovered 290 CIA spies both inside and outside the country in recent years.
