Iran has made dozens of arrests, including at least one foreigner, on charges of spying for the country's "enemies", the intelligence ministry said, amid the ongoing war with the United States and Israel, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
The United States and Israel launched air strikes against Iran on February 28, killing the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other military and political leaders. During the ongoing conflict, Iran has launched retaliatory strikes against Gulf states that are allies of the United States and host American military bases.
Without specifying the nationality of the arrested man, the intelligence ministry said the foreigner "was spying for the United States and Israel and acting as a representative of two Gulf countries," according to state media.
In recent years, Iran's Revolutionary Guards have arrested dozens of dual nationals and foreigners, mostly on charges of espionage and security violations. Rights groups accuse the Islamic Republic of trying to extract concessions from other countries through arrests on security violations that may be trumped up charges. Tehran says it does not make arrests for political reasons.
The ministry also said that "30 spies, domestic mercenaries and operatives of Israel and the United States" have been arrested in the past few days. Separately, Iranian police chief Ahmadreza Radan told state television that about 81 people have been detained so far for "sharing internal Iranian information with hostile media and enemies." He did not provide details.