Iran Rebuffs Western Pressures on Recent Arrests, Vows Thorough Investigations

The Iranian Intelligence Ministry in a statement released on Wednesday dismissed the western media ballyhoo about the recent arrests in Iran in the last few days, and said it is conducting thorough investigations into the case, which has already led to an established link between the detainees and the BBC.

The statement said the intelligence ministry “has succeeded in uncovering one of the biggest networks (of informants and agents) linked with the media camp of the arrogant powers”.

The ministry statement said “the network was run by the British government’s psychological operations organization (known as the BBC) in cooperation with several western governments and used a multilayer, extensive and well-quipped structure and very special methods of communications for sending its reports”, adding that the BBC and its western co-conspirators used the experience they had gained in the post-election unrests in Iran in June 2009 to better run the network.

The statement said the Intelligence Ministry watched the operations and moves of the network for months and collected the needed judicial proofs and evidence before it made the arrests.

“Owing to the special sensitivity of the case and numerous intelligence, security and judicial considerations, the collected information fully substantiate the link between the detained individuals and the psychological operations network of the British government and reveals the type and nature of the organized move by the alien media, even without considering the confessions made by the suspects,” it said.

The statement also mentioned that because those connected with this network both inside and outside the country had different types and levels of cooperation and contact with the group and because some of the them might have been in contact with the network unknowingly or might have been unaware of the fact that the network finds its roots in a foreign entity, some of the detainees might be released, while some others might be summoned to the ministry to present explanations.

Thus, the ministry said it would continue the probe until all individuals affiliated to this network are summoned to the investigation and “the media ballyhoo of the psychological war machine of the arrogance (the arrogant powers) and its affiliated so-called human rights organizations and the massive statements issued by numerous fake… organizations will leave no impact on the will and determination” of the intelligence ministry and its course of action.

To conclude the statement, the Intelligence Ministry praised the different media for their cooperation in gathering the relevant information, and informed that it would release some important information and details of this case in due future.

Thirteen Iranian journalists have been placed under arrest by the Intelligence Ministry for “consorting with hostile foreign news media” in recent days. One of the detainees was released later.

Iranian Culture Minister Seyed Mohammad Hosseini had informed earlier this week that the journalists were not arrested on “journalism-related charges”, and added, “We are investigating the issue and after getting more information we will provide the media with it. It seems that they have been arrested over security accusations.”

Also last week, Iranian Judiciary Spokesman and Prosecutor-General Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei warned that some of the journalists posed a threat the Islamic Republic, saying, “Based on information I have from reliable sources, unfortunately a number of journalists, as well as writing for the nation’s newspapers, work hand-in-hand with westerners and anti-revolutionaries.”