Iranian intel. officer accuses Shahrzad News of spying

He went on to say that Shahrzad News had published details of his statement along with the interviews with activists. Without mentioning us by name, he claimed that “a certain media organisation” that had published his article “are the known soldiers of the counter-revolution, and work as US spies.”

Shahrzad News: Last month Shahrzad News published details of blatant threats made against ‘big fish dissident activists’ by the Iranian regime. Government intelligence consultant Morteza Parsimode had said “Nameless soldiers, followers of the Twelfth Imam (know as the missing Imam) have been commissioned to hunt down opposition leaders, wherever they are.” Alongside this story we published interviews with a number of Iranian activists about the implications of the threats. We asked if opposition forces in exile should prepare themselves for a wave of assassinations similar to the one carried out in the 1980s and 1990s, when sixty leading activists were killed in European cities by agents of the Iranian regime. Both Parsimode’s threats and the interviews were posted on our website, attracting a wide audience, and prompting links from many other websites. Readers of our English language section in particular were more interested in the threats than in other news from Iran.

Angered by the widespread exposure his words had received, Parsimode felt impelled to respond with comments on his blog. It is worth pointing out that Shahrzad News received an email from an unnamed source on the day Parsimode’s response appeared, informing us about it.

In his reply Parsimode said his words had been published by no less than 240 websites around the world, alarming US national security agencies.

He went on to say that Shahrzad News had published details of his statement along with the interviews with activists. Without mentioning us by name, he claimed that “a certain media organisation” that had published his article “are the known soldiers of the counter-revolution, and work as US spies.” This accusation follows our publication of a story about how the US Central Intelligence Agency has begun investigating Parsimode’s background, in particular his links with terrorist organisations. They are also analysing the nature of the threats he has made.

In his blog Parsimode said: “The Iranian government has identified all groups and individuals that oppose it, monitoring them and their activities without their knowledge. Our intelligence agencies are doing an excellent job. We have even infiltrated the White House and gleaned a great deal of very important information from the Americans.”

Source: Shahrzad News