ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Wednesday detained a number of foreign diplomats in the country over charges of espionage, reported media outlets.
The diplomats, who work for foreign embassies in the country, were arrested for “spying” and retrieving samples of soil from "banned areas," IRNA said.
A drone-shot video published on state television shows the diplomats allegedly obtaining soil samples from a "prohibited" area.
The semi-official Tasnim agency identified one of the detainees as Giles Whitaker, the deputy head of mission at the British embassy in Tehran. The outlet claimed that Whitaker was seen taking oil samples from Shahdad desert in the Iranian city of Kerman.
However, the British government described the reports as "completely false" and hastily denied the arrest of any of its personnel, according to AFP.
UK ambassador to Iran Simon Shercliff tweeted on Thursday that the reports of the deputy ambassador being detained are “very interesting,” adding that Whitaker left Iran in December due to his posting ending.
These reports that our Deputy Ambassador is currently detained are very interesting…
— Simon Shercliff (@SimonShercliff) July 7, 2022
….He actually left Iran last December, at the end of his posting.
Another national of Polish origin was accused of working at a university “associated with the Zionist regime,” said Tasnim.
The recent developments follow an increase in arrests of foreign nationals in Iran, with all eyes on Tehran and world powers as they attempt to revive the landmark 2015 nuclear deal.
Amnesty International last month called on the British government to investigate the six-year detention of dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe following her release in March.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested at Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport in April 2016 following a family visit with her daughter. She was convicted of attempting to "topple the Iranian government" in September of the same year, charges she has repeatedly denied.
A French-Iranian academic was sent back to prison from house arrest in January.
Rights groups and watchdogs have repeatedly slammed Iran for using dual and foreign nationals as “political bargaining chips.”
Updated at 1:15pm
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