TEHRAN — Iran’s Intelligence Minister Seyyed Esmaeil Khatib says the two French citizens who have been detained were conspiring against Iran, refuting claims that they were tourists.

Referring to the media hype following the implementation of an economic reform plan for a fair distribution of subsidies, Khatib said on Wednesday, “The enemies used the media to create unrest and undermine the country's security. The timely actions of the intelligence and security services and the coordination of the Judiciary, their conspiracies were thwarted, but creating unrest and threatening the security of the country is still part of the enemy's combined war plans.”

Referring to the detention of the two French citizens, who were recently arrested by the Intelligence Ministry, the intelligence chief said, “The two French detainees were not tourists. We already had information about them and they were closely monitored from the moment they entered the country.”

He added that upon their arrival, these French citizens held organized meetings with several illegal groups and associations. 

“According to the available documents, the two French citizens sought to establish an organized connection between the illegal and riotous centers, which pursued the goals of these groups and the foreign intelligence services by adopting union coverings.”

He added that according to credible information, some elements of the illegal centers in question were linked to known terrorist groups and some identified expatriate spies, and more information on this case will be published soon by the ministry under his leadership.

Ahmad Reza Jalali’s espionage for Mossad has been proven

Elsewhere in his remarks, Khatib discussed the issue of Ahmad Reza Jalali, an Iranian spy who has been under detention since 2017.

“Jalali's espionage for the Zionist regime has been proven and his death sentence has gone through all judicial stages. The Swedish government, on behalf of the Zionist regime and the United States, illegally detained our citizen Mr. Hamid Nouri in Sweden shortly after his arrest and trial, and took him hostage.”

He then expressed his astonishment regarding the behavior of the Swedish government, saying, “It was strange that the Swedish government granted this spy permanent residency after his arrest in Iran, and after his trial and death sentence, they granted him Swedish citizenship, and since then the Swedish government has supported him as a citizen of this country, and we know that Sweden is pursuing the issue of Jalali with the plan created by the Zionist regime and the United States.”

The intelligence minister reiterated that the Swedish government has taken Hamid Nouri hostage with the conspiracy and scenario of the MKO (Mojahedin-E-Khalgh Organization) terrorist group. 

“We will publish more information about Jalali soon,” Khatib reiterated. 

In this regard, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian held a meeting with Khatib on Thursday. No information about the meeting has been provided until now.