Iran arrests eight Israeli spies: Report

Iran arrests eight Israeli spies: Report

Dec 20

Amid Israel's tough posturing against Iran's nuclear programme, Teheran's intelligence services have reportedly busted a spy ring that was collecting information for the Jewish state, a media report has said.

Eight Iranian citizens have been arrested on suspicion of having connection with the alleged espionage racket, Israel Radio's Persian language programme said.

An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman reportedly said that the affair was serious, but did not disclose whether or not those arrested are Jewish.

...

Israel's Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon last week said that Jerusalem would not only continue to impress upon the international community to put diplomatic pressure on Teheran but would also prepare for "other options" if such pressures do not yield desired results. Other Israeli leaders have also been dropping hints of military preparations to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions.
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/dec202004/i23.asp

The perspective from Debka, widely regarded as an organ of Israeli intelligence:

Tehran Accuses Israel after FBI Catches Iranian Surveillance Teams Red-handed

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman announced Sunday December 19 that intelligence minister Ali Younessi would “soon” report to the government on an eight-member spy ring that gathered information for Israel. No further information was offered about the identities of the “spies,” the nature of the “information” they had gathered or when.

DEBKAfile’s intelligence sources classify this vague, unverifiable charge as a typical Iranian exercise to cover up a fiasco. (Only recently they claimed to have put unnamed al Qaeda terrorists on trial.) It came two days after DEBKA-Net-Weekly broke the story that Iranian and Iran-sponsored surveillance teams has been discovered hanging about outside Israel’s diplomatic missions in the United States, South America, West Europe and the Middle East. Team members rounded up by the American FBI and Egyptian intelligence in the last ten days admitted under interrogation that they were collecting information for Iranian intelligence.

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DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s counter-terrorism sources report that foreign intelligence services have been telling Israel since late November that Iranian spy teams have been spotted outside Israeli missions in various parts of the world, including one nabbed by the FBI watching Israeli consulates in Los Angeles, Atlanta and Houston. It was made up of Iranian Americans, Arab and Pakistani students - some of them US citizens, and all activists belonging to Muslim fundamentalist groups.

They were perfectly aware that the data sent to Iranian intelligence was intended for use in hostage taking and bombing attacks against Israeli missions.
http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=953