The semi-official news agency Tasnim reported that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard arrested a dual national on Saturday, suspected of attempting to "incite disturbances and sabotage." This comes amid heightened security measures to thwart planned protests on the anniversary of the death of a young Kurdish woman while in custody of the morality police.
The agency, citing its correspondent, stated that the individual, whose identity has not been disclosed, possessed "multiple smartphones and a large amount of dollars" and was apprehended by the intelligence branch of the Revolutionary Guard in the city of Karaj, west of the capital Tehran.
This arrest occurs as Iran prepares to release five Iranian-American detainees under a Qatar-mediated agreement with the United States, which also includes the release of five Iranians held by the U.S. and the unfreezing of six billion dollars of Tehran's funds held in South Korea.
In recent years, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard has arrested dozens of dual nationals and foreigners, most of them on espionage charges and other security-related accusations. Human rights groups accuse Iran of attempting to extract concessions from other countries through arrests on what may be fabricated security charges. Tehran, which does not recognize dual citizenship, claims that such arrests are based on its criminal law and denies detaining anyone for political reasons.
