Israel’s General Security Service Shin Bet claims it has arrested an Iranian agent on spying charges.
Shin Bet alleges that 55-year-old Ali Mansouri, who carries Belgian citizenship, works for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and had travelled to Israel on several occasions to collect information.
The Jerusalem Post reports that public defence lawyers for Mansouri have denied the charges against him, saying he is a businessman and his trips Israel are in no way connected to the Iranian government. The attorneys also protest that for nine days their client was denied access to a lawyer and they rejected the pictures being painted by Shin Bet.
Israel has opposed recent attempts by the U.S. and the West to establish more amicable relationships with Iran, dismissing the new Iranian president’s attempts to ease international concerns about Iran’s nuclear program as hypocrisy.