Iran says Four Arrested in Nuclear Site Sabotage Attempt

by Reuters, Israel Hayom Staff and News Agencies

Saboteurs caught "red-handed" and are now being interrogated by Iranian authorities • Meanwhile, alleged Iranian spy Ali Mansouri indicted in Israel • Mansouri's indictment accuses him of espionage and assisting the enemy in wartime.

Four saboteurs arrested in an attempt to attack Iranian nuclear site [illustrative] | Photo credit: Reuters

At least four people have been arrested in Iran for trying to sabotage a nuclear site, an Iranian official was quoted by Iranian media as saying on Sunday.

The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, said officials had monitored and then arrested a "number of saboteurs" before they could carry out their plan.

"Four of these individuals were caught red-handed and their interrogations are ongoing," he said, according to the Mehr News Agency on Sunday. He did not identify which nuclear site they were planning to damage or when those detained were arrested.

Israel, widely believed to be the region's only nuclear-armed state, sees Iran's atomic work as a military threat and has said it will attack Iran's nuclear sites if it does not end its programme. Iran says its nuclear work is purely peaceful.

Iran accuses Israel and the West of being behind the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists and of trying to damage its programme in other ways, such as by cyberattacks. 

Meanwhile, alleged Iranian spy Ali Mansouri was indicted Sunday morning at the Lod District Court for spying and assisting the enemy in wartime. 

According to Israeli media reports, the indictment stated that Mansouri, 58, was recruited by Iran to carry out terror operations in Israel. He has dual Iranian and Belgian citizenship, and arrived in Israel to set up a business network that would act as a cover for terrorist activity. 

He had entered Israel three times to carry out this objective, and was arrested on September 11 while attempting to leave the country, the Shin Bet security agency revealed last month.

According to the Shin Bet and the indictment, Mansouri said he had several meetings with Iran’s Quds Force, the unit responsible for extraterritorial special operations, terrorism and subversion. The unit is run by the Islamist Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. 

In his interrogation Mansouri said that he had returned to Iran in 2007 after having left the country in 1980 with his family. He lived in Turkey until 1997, when he became a businessman and moved to Belgium. He received his Belgian citizenship in 2006, and subsequently changed his name to Alex Mans.

Mansouri was found with photographs of the U.S. Embassy and Ben-Gurion International Airport, having reportedly collected information on security procedures at the latter. 

According to the indictment, Mansouri was preparing to be joined by a second agent in the future. His espionage activities were carefully hidden from the Israeli government and his activities were reported to his Iranian handlers following each trip to Israel.

Iran reportedly offered him $1 million for his espionage work.

The prosecution requested to return Mansouri to police custody until the proceedings are over.

Reuters, Israel Hayom Staff and News Agencies

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=12393

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