TEHRAN – UK-based political scientist of Israeli origin Ahron Bregman’s “The Spy Who Fell to Earth” has been published in Persian.

Mahi is the publisher of the book rendered to Persian by Mehdi Nuri.

On the book’s back cover, Bregman wrote, “Shortly after midday on 27 June 2007, a man plummets from his fifth-floor London flat. Did he jump or was he pushed? 

“He is identified as an Egyptian millionaire who had been living in the UK since the early 1980s. His name is Ashraf Marwan. But that is only part of the tale, for Marwan was also an international businessman and arms dealer, married to Mona Abdel Nasser, daughter of the legendary Egyptian President, Gamal Abdel Nasser. 

“A few years before, I blew Marwan’s cover, unmasking him as a top spy who had been working for Egypt’s biggest enemy – Israel. But there is a twist – one that even the most audacious writer of fiction might balk at. 

“Soon after I exposed him, Marwan made contact. We met, became friends, and then kept in touch for almost five years. The day before he plunged to his death, Marwan phoned. 

“He was anxious and shaken and he asked for an urgent face-to-face meeting. We scheduled it for the next day. It never took place. Around the time we were due to meet, Marwan’s body was found in the private rose garden below his flat in central London. 

“This is the story of what came to be known as ‘The Marwan Affair’, which shocked the public and the Intelligence community. 

“It is based on my diary notes; together with messages I sent to Marwan over the years, they tell the inside story of my relationship with the spy some call the greatest secret agent of the twentieth century.”

Photo: Front cover of the Persian translation of Ahron Bregman’s book “The Spy Who Fell to Earth”.

MMS/YAW