Exiled diplomat lifts veil on Iran's regime

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Exclusive: While Iran reacts to the latest UN draft sanctions aimed at their nuclear programme a former Iranian diplomat tells Lindsey Hilsum about the regime's "divide and rule" tactics used in its dealings with the West.

Earlier this month I went to Oslo to meet the most senior Iranian diplomat to known to have resigned since last year's disputed elections.

I say "known to have", because according to Mohammed Reza Heydari, formerly Iran's Consul in Norway, several others have quietly returned to enforced retirement in Tehran, opting for silence and safety. Many more, he says, just keep their heads down while waiting for the day the regime changes.

Mr Heydari's story is both personal and political. The Iranian government says he is an opportunist who deserted his country to live the good life in Norway. He says he's risking his life by speaking out – his mother-in-law's house in Isfahan was attacked by suspected members of the basij militia, and he regularly receives threats by email or phone.

"My life is far from normal now. I can't go anywhere without prior notification. Whoever I want to see I must first organise it with the security. They say it's to protect my life," he said, when I met him in a hotel in Oslo.

His 17-year-old son (featured in below video) – who convinced the father to support the opposition and leave the diplomatic service – was with him.

The story of his defection, in reaction to the crackdown on protests after last June's disputed election, has been published elsewhere, but what I found interesting was the picture he painted of the regime he observed and served. His insider's account corroborates what western intelligence agencies have said for years, but with arresting eye-witness detail.

He said that the Revolutionary Guard is less likely to assassinate its enemies overseas these days (note: this week, the French released the Iranian they imprisoned in 1994 for the murder in Paris in 1991of Shahpour Bakhtiar, Iran's last prime minister under the Shah), but they threaten and harass dissidents with the help of Iranian diplomatic missions.

"The people who came...well it was explained to us that the targets were anti-revolutionary," he said.

"The anti-revolutionary does not want the revolution to survive or for the people of Iran to have legitimacy anywhere. This was our training and education. So when we came face to face with the people on these missions we assumed that they had come to observe or control someone who was against the Islamic Republic. That's how it was presented to us."

He described how when he worked at Mehrabad airport from 2004 - 7, he saw any number of interesting visitors: North Koreans apparently visiting nuclear sites, Hezbollah fighters coming for training, their families on free holidays in the Islamic Republic.

He was not privy to secrets, he says – he just observed, asked questions and came to his own conclusions. While Iran's government denies that it's building a bomb, Mr Heydari says that was the assumption he and his colleagues made.

"My knowledge stems from witnessing the visits of experts in the field, and the conversations of colleagues who worked with them," he said.

"There were translators, and people taking them to and from their hotels. They would come and sit with me. The discussion was that Iran was building several nuclear sites. As to where they are and who is responsible for them, I don't know. But that is the mission."

Diplomats say Mr Heydari's claims are credible, and the Norweigians take him seriously enough to provide police protection to him and his family.

He now faces the life of a refugee, turning his back on the system which sustained him for more than 20 years.