TEHRAN – The commander of Civil Defense Organization has hailed the Iranian intelligence forces for arresting Ruhollah Zam, the operator of the Telegram channel Seday-e Mardom (formerly known as Amad News).

Brigadier General Gholam Reza Jalali said the admin of Amad News was a dangerous person who was supported by Western intelligence services, Mehr reported on Tuesday.

He said having failed to wage a military aggression against Iran, the United States, the Zionist regime and the reactionary states of the region are imposing a media-centered hybrid war against the Iranian nation.

“With God’s grace and the good will of the Guards intelligence forces, Ruhollah Zam was captured by the powerful hand of the country’s intelligence apparatus,” the general said.

Jalali also branded Iran International, Manoto, BBC Persian, and other TV news channels as mercenaries of the “empire of lies” in its hybrid war against the Islamic Republic.

The remarks came a day after the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced Zam’s arrest by its intelligence forces.

In a statement on Monday, the IRGC said the arrest shows that the enemies’ intelligence services have been defeated by the power of the IRGC’s intelligence organization.

The IRGC said it lured Zam into Iran using “clever, multidimensional and innovative tricks”, which even deceived foreign intelligence agencies.

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.

The IRGC also said the French intelligence service was behind Zam’s activities, which were also backed by the U.S. and Zionist regime’s spy services.

Seday-e Mardom Telegram channel, which is now under the control of the Islamic Republic, reported the arrest of Zam by the Guards on Monday.

It also posted a photo of Zam in custody, under which it was written: “This is just the beginning”.

MH/PA