UK, US, France, 11 other nations condemn Iranian intelligence threats

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LONDON (Reuters) -Britain and 13 allies including the United States and France condemned on Thursday what they called a surge in assassination, kidnapping and harassment plots by Iranian intelligence services targeting individuals in Europe and North America.

“We are united in our opposition to the attempts of Iranian intelligence services to kill, kidnap, and harass people in Europe and North America in clear violation of our sovereignty,” the countries said in a joint statement.

The governments – of Albania, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the U.S. – called on the Iranian authorities to immediately stop such illegal activities.

They said such actions were increasingly carried out in collaboration with international criminal networks.

Iran’s foreign ministry rejected the accusations as “blatant fabrications and a diversionary tactic, part of a malicious campaign of Iranophobia aimed at pressuring the Iranian people.”

“The U.S., France, and the other signatories of the anti-Iranian statement must be held accountable for their support and hosting of terrorist and violent groups, which constitutes a violation of international law and support for terrorism,” ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said in a statement on Friday.

He was apparently referring anti-Iran armed opposition groups based in Europe, such as the Mujahedeen-e Khalq, which was once designated as a terrorist organisation by the U.S. and EU and now operates freely in the West.

Since early 2022, Britain says it has disrupted more than 20 Iran-linked plots to kidnap or kill individuals in the UK, including British nationals and others Tehran views as threats.

In October, Reuters reported that Iran was behind a wave of attempted assassinations and abductions across Europe and the United States.

In March, the British government announced it would require the Iranian state to register all political influence activities, citing increasingly aggressive behaviour by Tehran’s intelligence services.

(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; Editing by Giles Elgood, Kirsten Donovan and Michael Perry)