Iran Arrests 8 Employees of UK Embassy, Alleging Subversion

28 June 2009 :: J.E. Robertson

Iranian authorities have reportedly detained at least 8 employees of the British embassy in Tehran, saying they had been “playing major parts” in stirring up anti-Ahmedinejad sentiments. The government of Pres. Mahmoud Ahmedinejad has taken an extreme hard line on the issue of dissent over the election, accusing unarmed demonstrators of “terrorism” and calling the US president Barack Obama’s criticism of the shooting of demonstrators “unconventional, abnormal and discourteous”.

The shift in mood over the last few days, since the outrage over the death of Neda Soltan galvanized criticism of the election and the post-election crackdown around the world, seems to be one less concerned with striking a balance between legitimacy and brute force and more determined to prevail in the tug of war over the reins of the Iranian state, come what may. Efforts to appear to be legitimized by the democratic process appear to have been abandoned in favor of a strategy that hinges on making sure the public is too afraid of the authorities to demonstrate against them.

The arrests threaten to further exacerbate tensions between Tehran and the international community, as they show a clear attempt by the Iranian authorities to scapegoat foreign governments and accuse Iranians who may not support the Ahmedinejad government of political crimes. Such actions feed public perceptions the Iranian regime is ruling by means not legitimated by constitutional law. (The Iranian constitution explicitly bans all forms of “oppression”.)

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Tensions have been escalating between the UK and the Islamic Republic since the election. Last week, Britain expelled two Iranian diplomats, and Iran did the same to the British diplomatic staff. According to the LA Times:

Though the atmosphere in Tehran’s streets has calmed, the aftershocks of the disputed election continue. All eight British embassy employees arrested were members of its political section. Authorities with a search warrant detained at least one of the embassy staffers at his home Saturday morning. Authorities brought him back to his apartment later in the evening and seized computers and documents.

British foreign secretary David Miliband condemned what he described as the arrest and continued detention of “hardworking” embassy staff. “This is harassment and intimidation of a kind that is quite unacceptable,” he said in a BBC interview. “We want to see (them) released unharmed.”

With Ahmedinejad-linked Basij militia increasingly seen as agents provocateurs and even filmed brutally assaulting unarmed civilians, there is concern the regime consisting of Ahmedinejad and Khamene’i’s supporters may be opting for a war of attrition in public brutality to secure its leadership. Such heavy-handed tactics have stirred global outrage and led to the UN Sec. Gen. Ban Ki-moon calling for an end to all violence against civilians.

But the Ahmedinejad-Khamene’i camp has sought to aggressively smear all opposition figures as the root cause of any escalation, accusing demonstrators of being pawns in a plot to “overthrow” the government. Independent observers have told the press, including this publication, that there is mounting concern the crackdown could intensify and become more bloody, as the regime sees its grip on power slipping.

There are daily reports of more opposition figures detained, allegations that some political figures, including at least one presidential candidate, may have been threatened personally or through threats to their families, and a growing internet movement to use digital media to identify those responsible for killing demonstrators. There are new reports of midnight Basij raids on private homes, designed to terrify would-be demonstrators.

Human Rights Watch alleges that the night-time raids include property destruction and the confiscation of satellite dishes, aimed at preventing Iranians from having access to foreign news sources. State media began last week broadcasting the rumor that Neda Soltan —the 26-year old pro-democracy demonstrator shot and killed by a Basij militia member— was in fact a Basij agent “martyred” by a foreign conspiracy to smear the regime. Such fabrications are part of a wider effort to establish a dynamic wherein the government is justified in using military force to end the resistance.

Accusations regarding Basij raids under cover of darkness include charges of extreme force, beating of people in their homes, and random attacks, apparently intended to intimidate the entire population into fearing a bloody crackdown against anyone expressing dissent. Abolfazi Fateh, Mousavi’s media chief, has reportedly been barred from leaving Iran. Such a ban is interpreted as a threat of imprisonment or possibly harsh treatment. Fateh told Iranian media, “Such pressures cannot push people like me to change our political stances,” adding that “The imposed ban will not change my political views.”

An unnamed “ally” of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi says the reformist candidate has rejected the government’s offer of a recount of 10% of the ballots from the 12 June vote as insufficient. Mousavi was quoted as saying “This kind of recount will not remove ambiguities…There is no other way but annulment of the vote… Some members of this committee are not impartial”. Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamene’i has said annulment is not an option, because it would undermine the established legal process for choosing the president.

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