TEHRAN- In an interview with the khamenei.ir published on Wednesday, Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib stressed that Tehran will send the bills of the recent seditious acts of Britain and Saudi Arabia to London and Riyadh as they should pay for their anti-Iran actions.

The intelligence minister underlined that “England will pay for the actions it has done to make Iran unsafe and that Iran International network is recognized by Iran as a terrorist organization and its operatives and affiliates will be prosecuted.”

Iran International, a Farsi-language TV headquartered in London, is financed by Saudi Arabia. It has been the main instigator of violence in Iran, which started in mid-September. 

Pointing to some evidence of the enemy’s ploy to foment insecurity in the country by exploiting the death of Mahsa Amini, the intelligence minister said, “There are numerous reports that [foreign] intelligence officers have been in close contact with various anti-revolutionary groups, some domestic traitors, illegitimate union centers, and even training courses under the guise of tourism tours or civil and legal training for Iranians abroad. We know well what was requested from agents and mercenaries in such meetings and training sessions.” 

Khatib added, “There are usually several layers of intermediaries between field agents and foreign-backed intelligence officers. However, Iranian Intelligence Ministry directly abducted some of them over their hasty and rash moves ahead of the outbreak of riots across the country. The foreign intelligence agents, affiliated with the French DGSE, strived to contact and train individuals in the guise of illegitimate union centers to wreak havoc in the country. All their meetings, calls and communications have been documented and perpetrators will receive decisive punishment for their illegal measures.” 

Emphasizing the enemy’s use of "hybrid warfare" in the recent disturbances in which cyberspace and foreign-run social media platforms, especially the U.S-based platforms, regarded as pillars, he said, “The role of the Zionist regime was noticeable in both management and implementation. Britain had a hand in dissemination of contrived propaganda against the Iranian nation. The Saudi Arabia played a pivotal role in providing the financial supports for riots especially anti-Iran rally in Berlin where a cabal of royalists, hypocrites, separatists, and sexually deviant groups gathered. The Saudi petrodollar was spent on the anti-Iran scenario, including propaganda, audio and video coverage, rental of advanced equipment for aerial photography of the gathering, provision of facilities for the sizeable presence of journalists, and even food distribution. For all of them, we are able to present evidence.”  

Regarding the operating role and communication ways of foreign-backed TV channels, Khatib highlighted that under certain circumstances such channels have specific employers, a financial supporter, and certain proportions of executive agents. 

The U.S., Britain, and the Zionist regime are considered as employers, he said. In other words, the intelligence chief said, they have launched a kind of psychological war on the Iranian nation through social media and virtual space due to their lack of direct access to people as well as direct influence on them. 

Unfortunately, he said, the main financial support of such networks is Saudi Arabia. 

In the meantime, special attention should be paid to the role of the London-based Farsi-speaking TV channels, Khatib noted. 

“They led the riots using operational directions. There is some intelligence proving they were given real time pieces of news and footage to direct the rioters. From this perspective, the role of the Britain-Saudi-U.S. trio (BBC Persian, Iran International and Manoto) was much more obvious than the others.”

Referring to Iran’s approach towards Britain’s nefarious moves, the intelligence minister said, “Currently, certain London-based networks are seeking to sow and spread unrest in Iran. Both in the past and in the present, such media have gone beyond the field of riot management, seeking to organize malicious and terrorist movements in the country. Britain has been the instigator of such a devilish action. In the past, Iran has repeatedly been an obstacle to terrorist acts against the European bloc, but Britain and some other European countries have not given up any hostility against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Undoubtedly, like England, we will never support acts of terror and insecurity in other countries, but we will not have an obligation to deter the occurrence of insecurity in such countries; consequently, Britain will pay for its actions to make the great country of Iran insecure.”

He added, “The Iran International network is recognized by Iran’s security agency as a terrorist organization and its operatives will be pursued by the Ministry of Intelligence. And from here on, any kind of connection with this terrorist organization will be considered to be tantamount to entering the field of terrorism and a threat to national security.”

Showing reactions to the role of Saudi Arabia in the recent disturbances in Iran, Khatib remarked, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has so far exercised strategic patience with firm rationality, but it does not give any guarantee for lingering this kind of strategy in the event of the continuation of animosities. Undoubtedly, if the will of the Islamic Republic of Iran is given to reciprocate and punish such countries, the fragile edifice will crumble and they will not see stability.”