Iran busts 17 spies linked to CIA; some will receive the death penalty

RT
Mon, 22 Jul 2019 07:16 UTC

© Twitter/Tasmin News Agency

Alleged CIA spies

Iranian secret services uncovered a 17-member spy ring working against the country, according to state-affiliated media. Some of the agents have been given capital punishment. All the suspects in question were arrested by Iran's Ministry of Intelligence, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported.

They were working as private contractors "in the economic, nuclear, infrastructural, military and cyber areas... where they collected classified information," the report said.

Some of the suspected agents were allegedly recruited by CIA officers while applying for US visas. Others were approached on the sidelines of scientific events in European, African, and Asian countries. Tehran did not say when the spy ring was exposed, but announced the arrests were made throughout the last Iranian calendar year, which ended in March 2019.

It is reported that the suspects were equipped with top-notch communication gear which they used to hand over intelligence to their American handlers. It included, among other items, containers disguised as stones. Agents were trained to retrieve these from urban or mountainous areas using complex procedures. Using the containers, the CIA allegedly provided its spies with encrypted communications and fake IDs, local media reports, citing officials.

Washington brushed off the accusation, with Secretary of State - and former CIA Director - Mike Pompeo saying Iran has "history of lying." Later in the day, he told Fox News: "I would take with a significant grain of salt any Iranian assertion about actions that they've taken."

The long-running animosity between Iran and the US began to mount after the US unilaterally pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA) last year and reinstated tighter economic sanctions on Tehran. Iran responded in kind, curbing some of its commitments under the deal, claiming European signatories of the deal did not do enough to protect its economy from Washington.

Tensions peaked in May after the US deployed additional military assets to the Middle East. In June, Iran shot down a US Navy surveillance drone, saying it had strayed into its airspace. And on Saturday, the White House reported the downing of an Iranian drone which approached the USS Boxer, a claim denied by the Iranians.

Comment: RT reports: Iranian media releases photos of 'captured spies'

Photos purporting to show several of the 17 alleged captured CIA-linked operatives have begun circulating in the Iranian media.

Iran announced that it had broken up an alleged CIA spy ring in June but officials have yet to clarify whether Monday's announcement is in fact linked. The CIA has yet to comment.

The arrests reportedly took place in March 2019 but have only been made public as of Monday, with photos purporting to show several of the arrestees shared online by state-affiliated media. The photos seem to be personal or family photos rather than images of people in detention.

In addition, an Iranian documentary which aired on state television on Monday purported to show a CIA officer recruiting an Iranian man while the pair were in the UAE.

RT: Trump: Iran's CIA spy claim is 'totally false'

US President Donald Trump has denied reports that over a dozen CIA operatives were captured in Iran, calling it 'just more lies and propaganda' on Tehran's part.

The allegation is a desperate measure by a "badly failing" government with a "dead" economy, Trump tweeted on Monday.

RT reports: Pompeo shrugs off Iran claim of CIA spy ring

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has dismissed Tehran's claim that it has captured 17 spies working for the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), suggesting that the assertion is pure fabrication.