Iran 'arrests 12 CIA agents'

Influential politician says US spies had been gathering intelligence on military units and nuclear activities

 

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Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, which would be a potential target for US agents. Photograph: Reuters

Iran has ramped up tensions with the US by claiming to have arrested 12 agents who had been working undercover for the CIA inside the Islamic republic.

On Wednesday, the Irna state news agency quoted a senior Iranian official as saying that the American spies it claimed to have arrested had been gathering intelligence from Iran's security and military units as well as its highly sensitive nuclear activities.

"The main mission of this act of espionage was related to Iran's progress in the fields of nuclear technology and also military and security activities," said Parviz Sorouri, a member of the parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, in quotes carried by Irna.

Sorouri told the agency that the network had been uncovered by an operation involving the Iranian ministry of intelligence. "The US and Zionist regime's espionage apparatuses were trying to damage Iran both from inside and outside with a heavy blow, using regional intelligence services," he said. "Fortunately, with swift reaction by the Iranian intelligence department, the actions failed to bear fruit."

Sorouri's comments follow reports on Monday that the Lebanese Shia militia, Hezbollah, and Iran had identified alleged CIA informants.

Former US officials told Reuters that those arrested were believed to be local recruits working for the CIA rather than US citizens. The CIA has denied to comment on the recent reports.