TEHRAN – Mohammad Tavallaei, a high-ranking IRGC general, has revealed more details about the arrest of Ruhollah Zam, the head of an anti-Iranian website and Telegram channel, saying he was arrested through cooperation with other intelligence services.

“Intelligence forces had been keeping a careful watch over Ruhollah Zam’s movements for a long time and he stepped into intelligence trap of the Guards some two years ago,” Tavallaei said on Tuesday, according to Mehr.

“Zam was a key figure of (foreign) intelligence services for throwing the country into disarray...and driving a wedge between the Iranian people and government,” he said.

“He was under the strong support of other intelligence services but we trapped and arrested him through a meticulous intelligence operation,” the general added.

Tavallaei warned those who have been deceived by foreign spy agencies opposed to the Islamic Republic should know that they will abandon them as soon as coming under pressure or facing a threat.

The remark came as the IRGC announced on Monday that its intelligence unit had arrested Ruhollah Zam, admin of an anti-Iranian website and Telegram channel “Amad News”.

The IRGC said in its Monday statement that it succeeded to lure Zam into Iran and then arrest him, adding that further information about the operation will soon be revealed.

The statement was widely welcomed by political factions in Iran.

In a statement on Monday evening, lawmakers praised the IRGC’s “awe-inspiring” operation to catch Zam, expressing certainty that the Iranian nation will continue to witness similar victories by the forces of the IRGC intelligence operation.

Zam launched Amad News in 2015. The channel frequently posted fake news stories and called for violence with the aim of overthrowing the Islamic Republic of Iran.

During the protest rallies in December 2018, he urged the people to take arms against the government.

MH/PA