By Nykoel Dinardo
Senior Desk Officer, Middle East
TEHRAN, Iran – The Iran State Media released information that several foreigners were detained during violent protests in December 2009.
A video of the clashes with police posted to the internet. Courtesy of YouTube.com.
In a speech made on state television, Iranian Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi told the people of Iran that several foreigners had been arrested during the protests. He went on to explain that these detainees are suspected of “pursuing propoganda and psychological warfare” against the government of Iran. Several of the foreigners had arrived in Iran only two days before the protests; Moslehi explained that their belongings, including cameras and equipment, have been seized.
Moslehi did not specify an exact number of foreigners seized, only that several were detained.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic News Agency, an state-run Iranian company, released a report on January 4 that accuses sixty-two American and European institutes and foundations of assisting with the political disturbances following the Iranian presidential election in 2009. The report accused these foundations and institutes of participating in false “public diplomacy” and “media diplomacy,” while creating a “soft war” against the government of Iran.
The report named several of the accused institutions, including the Woodrow Wilson Center, Freedom House Charities, the Hoover Institute of Stanford University, Yale University and all affiliated centers and programs, and Human Rights Watch. According to a statement by the Deputy Foreign Minister of Information, cooperation with these organizations is considered contrary to the Holy Islamic Republic.
For more information, please see:
ABC News – Foreign Nationals Among Protest Detainees, Says Iran – 4 January 2010
Al Jazeera – Foreigners ‘Among Iran Arrests’ – 4 January 2010
Islamic Republic News Agency – نقش 62 بنياد و موسسه امريکايي و اروپايي در ايجاد اغتشاشات پس از انتخابات (The Role of 62 American and European Institutes and Foundations in Creating Disturbances After the Election)[Available in Farsi only] – 4 January 2010
Reuters Canada – Iran Says Several Foreigners Arrested in Protests – 4 January 2010
YouTube – نبرد تن به تن و نفس گیر مردم با گارد ویژه – عاشورا (Video of Protests on Ashura) – 30 December 2009
