UK dismisses report of British diplomat's arrest in Iran for 'spying' as 'false'

Hours after several Iranian media reported the arrest of a UK diplomat in Tehran, the UK Foreign Office denied the reports and dubbed them "completely false". As per Iranian state Television reports, the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has found the deputy ambassador of the United Kingdom and other foreigners collecting samples of soil from prohibited military zones. The diplomat was reportedly detained on the charges of "espionage"."Reports of the arrest of a British diplomat in Iran are completely false," the Foreign Office said in a statement released on Wednesday. 

On the other hand, Iran’s state TV played footage showcasing the diplomat caught red-handed while collecting samples from the ground while under drone surveillance. According to the media reports, those detained include the deputy head of mission at the British Embassy, Giles Whitaker, and several others. Citing the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, the media report said the diplomats visited the various forbidden zones in the country while the Guard was carrying out missile tests. Some media reports also claimed that Whitaker was expelled from the area after offering authorities an apology. The report came at a time when the Boris Johnson government is facing political turbulence amid the resignations of his top ministers.

Iran also detained Polish scientist for spying

"Even though there were signs in that area saying this was a forbidden area, he went further and took a sample and took a picture," AP quoted a narrator as saying. Intelligence agencies say that these people often pose as tourists, but are looking for military and missile sites to identify equipment and ammunition," it added.  Apart from the British diplomat, local media reports also accused a Polish scientist at Copernicus University in Poland, Maciej Walczak, and the husband of Austria’s cultural attaché in Iran of collecting samples of soil, water, and salt from the prohibited region. 

Notably, this was not the first time when Tehran has arrested European diplomats on the charges of espionage, but earlier it had detained British, Sweden and French diplomats in order to gain leverage in nuke negotiations that have been halted for several years. It also detained several US tourists on charges of spying. However, Iran denied using detainees to further its political aims.

Image: UK Govt/AP