bne IntelliNews – Iranian intelligence arrested “Israeli spy blogger” for “.” Tweeter

Iranian authorities have arrested blogger and proofreader Hossein Shanbehzadeh, accusing him of being an Israeli spy in Iran's northwest Ardabil province with links to the IRGC. Tasnim the news agency reported on June 5.

Shanbehzadeh came to the attention of authorities when he responded to a tweeted photo of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei posing with the Iranian national volleyball team on the social media platform The full response sparked a flurry of likes, which seemed to spook the security services.

Shanbehzadeh's arrest is the latest in a series of recent arrests by Iranian authorities against individuals critical of the regime. Human rights organizations have repeatedly accused Iran of using espionage accusations to silence dissent and suppress free speech in the country.

According to Jalal Afaghi, Attorney General and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Ardabil, the accused was wanted by the Ministry of Intelligence and was arrested in Ardabil following a court decision and the efforts of the central prosecutor's office of the province, with the help of soldiers of Imam Zaman. (a reference to intelligence agents).

Afaghi said Shanbehzadeh, from a southern Iranian province, was communicating with high-ranking officers in Israel's Mossad intelligence service through a social media network.

Under the cover of editorial activities, he would have collected information requested by the Mossad inside the country.

The prosecutor added that due to the pursuit of the Ministry of Intelligence, the accused traveled to several provinces with the intention of hiding and ultimately fleeing the country.

However, upon entering Ardabil, he was arrested in a surprise operation carried out by intelligence agents.

Afaghi said news of Shanbehzadeh's arrest in Ardabil was immediately spread by several foreign-based opposition media outlets, including Iran International.

Tasnim claimed that Shanbehzadeh “used to insult imams and sacred figures of Islam.”

X.com later showed that his account had been deactivated, saying: “Account suspended. X suspends accounts that violate X rules.”

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