Iran Unleashes Espionage Weapon Against Dissidents

In the aftermath of the Israeli air attacks and subsequent US bombings, the Iranian government is now reported to be using the weapon of espionage against politicians, media persons, human rights activists, suspected bureaucrats, lawyers and many others to stifle the voice of dissent. It seems that it may not spare even foreign tourists and diplomats. 

Earlier in a report of 10 January 2025, Reuters informed that a Swiss national who was arrested in Iran and accused of spying took his own life in prison. The Iranian judiciary news agency Mizan quoted the chief justice of Iran’s Semnan province as saying this.

The Swiss foreign ministry said it had been informed by Iran about the arrest of the 64-year-old man on suspicion of espionage on Dec. 10. He had been travelling in Iran as a tourist and had not resided in Switzerland for almost 20 years, the ministry said, adding that he had been living in southern Africa. The Swiss embassy in Tehran had tried to obtain more information and to speak to the man but the request was denied because of the ongoing Iranian investigation, it said.

In a recent statement, the Swiss foreign ministry said it demands that the Iranian authorities provide detailed information on the reasons for his arrest and a full investigation into the circumstances of his death. Swiss authorities are not satisfied with the Iranian official version of the incident.

Al Arabia of 10 Jan reported, “ Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have in recent years arrested dozens of dual nationals and foreigners, mostly on charges related to espionage and security. However, the Nour News, which is affiliated to a top security body of Iran said his arrest coincided with Israeli airstrikes on Iranian military targets on Oct. 26, and that he committed suicide “using his previous training at the spy service.”

Switzerland is formally representing Washington’s interests in Iran and passes messages between the two countries. Sources say that Iran is not happy with the role Switzerland has been assigned. At the same time, Human Rights groups accuse Iran of trying to extract concessions from other countries through such arrests. Iran denies this. Observers wonder whether a parallel could be drawn between Iran using the espionage instrument and Pakistan using the blasphemy law to eliminate undesirable persons.

In another case, Reuter reporting from Paris informed that Noemie Kohler, and Anne-Laure Paris, daughter of Jacques Paris, two French citizens are held in Iran. France reaffirmed its condemnation of Iran’s detention of two French citizens, who have been held for three years.  The pair, Cecile Kohler and her partner Jacques Paris are being held in a “totally arbitrary manner,” the French foreign ministry said in a statement following a report from AFP that the two had been charged with spying for Israel’s Mossad.

In May, France filed a case at the International Court of Justice against Iran for violating the right to consular protection, in a bid to pressure Iran over the detention of Kohler and Paris..

Iran has freed Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, three weeks after being detained in Tehran during a reporting trip shortly after Italy arrested an Iranian wanted by the United States. Cecilia has since rejoined her family.

These serial arrests show that the Tehran regime is increasingly feeling apprehensive of dissenters and foreign agents and has launched a campaign of detentions, possibly framing fake cases, influencing the judiciary, and allegedly meeting inhuman treatment to the alleged culprits, sometimes ending up with their execution.

The World Report 2025 of Human Rights Watch (admittedly a US influenced NGO) severely criticises Iranian authorities for continued brutal, targeted repression even though the new Iranian president has promised change. The authorities have targeted human rights defenders, women, ethnic and religious minorities, and families of those arrested or killed in the 2022 protests.

The Eye Witness News of 29 June reported that three Iranian men were executed this week on alleged charges of collaborating with Israel — according to the Islamic Republic’s judiciary—, bringing the total number of people put to death on similar charges during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel to 6. The hangings were part of the “season of traitor-killing,” according to Iran’s IRNA News Agency, as Iranian authorities carried out the executions less than 48 hours after the ceasefire between Iran and Israel had been announced.

Iran’s judiciary said the men were convicted of espionage on behalf of Israel’s Mossad. However, human rights activists claim the men were Kurdish day labourers with no access to classified information and were denied fair trials.

“This is a very corrupt regime, and there is no due process in Iran,” Azadeh Pourzand, a Middle East and human rights expert and a senior fellow and head of the State-Society Relations Unit at the think tank Centre for Middle East and Global Order, told ABC News.

The crackdown follows a war with Israel that Iranian authorities say left at least 627 people dead and 4,870 injured, while causing major infrastructure damage across the country. Iran’s current regime, however, seems to have tightened its grip despite the fact many analysts had speculated on the possibility of a regime change in the wake of the Israeli aggression. Yet, foreign attacks usually have the effect of bringing the assaulted country together by spurring nationalism.

On June 25, Iran’s judiciary announced changes to what it called the “Espionage Law for Dealing with Citizens,” with the Intelligence Ministry announcing the formation of a new special committee tasked with monitoring citizens’ online activities — a campaign state media has labelled an “intelligence jihad,” highlighting it as part of a broader “national defence” effort.

Some Iranians initially viewed Israel’s early rhetoric about “freeing Iranians” from dictatorship with hope.

“The Islamic Republic is a totalitarian regime which has brought decades of destruction, insecurity, and regional instability,” Parham, 36, told ABC News. “Supporting the Iranian people in their quest for freedom is not only a moral imperative but also a pathway toward peace, prosperity, and stability in the region.” However, such statements collected by Western News agency cannot be taken at face value and don’t reveal what is the percentage of people in the country who want or expect to be ‘freed’ by foreign enemies.

“This is one of the greatest divine blessings,” Khamenei said, referring to the penetration of multiple layers of Israeli defence systems by Iranian missiles and drones during the recent conflict. “It shows the Zionist regime that any aggression against the Islamic Republic will come at a cost — a heavy cost — and thankfully, that’s exactly what happened.”

However, some now fear that Khamenei’s “heavy cost” will also fall on Iranian citizens, as the world’s attention shifts elsewhere, leaving them at the mercy of a regime determined to assert full control.

“What’s already started is quite horrific,” Pourzand said. “Unfortunately, I think what’s coming will be even worse.”

In recent decades, certain sections of Iran’s population at home and abroad have made various attempts to get rid of a government known for its staunch orthodoxy and embedded animosity against Israel and the US. However, the ill-timed and manifestly ineffective Israeli air attacks appear to have led to a hardening of the regime while reportedly exposing a network of Israeli and pro-West embedded spies and sleeper cells that may now be decimated.