Not sure what this means, but _AP_ is “reporting”:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070503/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_nuclear_arrest_10;_ylt=AgiWWVMbxAd1OYUUOTaQu29Sw60A that Hossein Mousavian, formerly the head of Iran’s delegation to the IAEA, was arrested.
Iran did not officially release any details about the specific charges against him. But the semiofficial Fars news agency — which is deemed close to the elite Revolutionary Guards — said Mousavian could face espionage charges.
“The probable charge of espionage activities may be raised against him,” the agency quoted an unidentified official as saying. “*Mousavian was arrested because of connections and exchange of information with foreign elements.”*
Incidentally, the Fars News Agency quoted Mousavian “earlier this year”:http://english.farsnews.com/printable.php?nn=8510160452 as warning against overly-belligerent negotiating tactics on the part of Tehran. According to FNA, he said
…both Iran and the 5+1 group should take proper care not to drive the situation too critical as it may result in an uncontrollable condition.
“Dispute, difference of views, debate and compromise are all typical of negotiations, but *both parties should make sure that the situation is still under control and that it is not growing uncontrollable.* This serves to be the Achilles’ heel for both Iran and the 5+1,” he underlined.
Stressing that the issue can be solved through negotiations, he reminded that both the former and the present teams of negotiators from the Islamic Republic pursued an identical goal but through different tactics.*
Maybe this sort of criticism helped to get him in trouble. I have no idea, though.
*Update:*
_AFP_ has “more.”:http://www.spacewar.com/2006/070502173959.2w8y6yg6.html
I haven’t found either the IRNA or FNA stories being quoted in the wire reports. But according to _AFP_, an “unnamed source” quoted by FNA said that
bq. “Moussavian had probably exchanged information with foreigners over nuclear issues and he could face espionage charges.”
*Later Update:*
The “_FT_”:http://www.ft.com/cms/s/b2992d6e-f8a1-11db-a940-000b5df10621,dwp_uuid=fc3334c0-2f7a-11da-8b51-00000e2511c8.html got a quote from Mohammad Atrianfar, “a prominent journalist close to Mr Mousavian,” who shed a bit more light on the charges against him:
“The unconfirmed charge is financial scandal, but there is strong speculation in political circles that it was somehow related to the nuclear issue,” Mr Atrianfar told the FT.
[snip]
Mr Mousavian has travelled regularly since losing in 2005 his post as chair of the foreign policy committee of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC).
“The move exerts pressure because [Mr] Mousavian was a link with some lobbies outside Iran,” Mr Atrianfar said. “This is to create a police atmosphere which is worrying.”
Paul,
I am glad that you picked up on this. Hossein is a formidable debater with a perfect attention to the minutest details of the nuclear issue, a faultless diplomat, and an Iranian patriot. It is true that he talked to a lot of western NGOs, including us, but he always stayed true to the government line. I find his arrest surprising, and frankly, very distressing.
M spoke at a conference I organised last Nov on the Mid East WMD Free Zone. His speech, was a quite distinct from the President’s line in a number of respects- the webcast and transcript are on http://www.cisd.soas.ac.uk. The embassy subsequently made persistent efforts to ensure that we understood that.
“Moussavian had probably exchanged information with foreigners over nuclear issues and he could face espionage charges.”
Well, as head of the delegation to the IAEA, that’s pretty much a description of his job. Which would make setting him up on trumped charges almost too easy for anyone who wanted to…