French embassy in Iran | intelNews.org

News you may have missed #453

November 18, 2010 by intelNews Leave a comment

France accuses Iran of violence at Tehran embassy. A diplomatic standoff between France and Iran has ensued, after Paris accused Iran’s security services of committing “unacceptable acts of violence” on French diplomatic personnel at the French embassy in Tehran. The alleged incident happened as guests gathered at the embassy for a traditional Persian music concert. Iranian plainclothes security forces and uniformed police stopped about two-thirds of 130 invited guests from entering the building, and an unknown number of people were seen being taken away in unmarked vans.
CIA picks Air Force general to lead military ops office. The CIA announced Monday that it has chosen an Air Force Lt. Gen. Kurt A. Cichowski, who has extensive experience in Predator drones, to head its military affairs office. In 2009, Cichowski called the CIA drone assassination program a “phenomenal […] success”.
Aussie spies spooked out by student filmmakers. Three media students filming a tourist site near the controversial new headquarters of Australia’s spy organization, ASIO, in Canberra, prompted a late-night police check, apparently over security concerns.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 0 Aussie spies spooked out by student filmmakers, 0 CIA picks Air Force general to lead military ops office, 0 France accuses Iran of violence at Tehran embassy, ASIO, assassinations, Australia, Canberra (Australia), CIA, France, French embassy in Iran, Iran, Kurt Cichowski, News, news you may have missed, Predator drones

Comment: Was Clotilde Reiss a French Spy in Iran?

May 20, 2010 by intelNews 3 Comments

Clotilde Reiss

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
The case of Clotilde Reiss acquired new momentum earlier this week, after a former French intelligence official claimed she had collaborated with French secret services. Pierre Siramy, who until late last year was a senior official at DGSE, France’s external intelligence agency, said on Sunday that Reiss had worked “very well” for France. Reiss, a 25-year-old Farsi-speaking French-language assistant at the University of Isfahan, was arrested in Iran last year on accusations of being a ‘nuclear spy’. But last weekend her ten-year prison sentence was suddenly commuted to a fine, and she was able to return home to France, in an apparent secret deal with Paris, which included the release of two Iranian operatives held in France.

Was release of French ‘spy’ part of Iranian-French deal? [updated]

May 18, 2010 by intelNews Leave a comment

Majid Kakavand

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
This blog has closely monitored the case of Clotilde Reiss, a French language assistant who was arrested in Iran last year on accusations of being a ‘nuclear spy’. Despite the obviously nonsensical nature of the allegations, Reiss, a 25-year-old Farsi-speaking French-language assistant at the University of Isfahan, was forced to confess to her ‘crime’ on Iranian television. Last August, however, after spending nearly two months in the notorious Evin prison complex, Reiss was released on bail, on condition that she would remain confined inside the walls of the French embassy compound in Tehran. Then, last weekend, her ten-year prison sentence was suddenly commuted to a fine of $285,000, and she was able to return home to France on Sunday. Why the sudden change of heart on the part of Tehran? Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Clotilde Reiss, extraditions, France, French embassy in Iran, front companies, Iran, Isfahan (Iran), Majid Kakavand, Malaysia, News, Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport, United States, University of Isfahan, weapons smuggling

News you may have missed #0069

August 17, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Book claims Mossad considered murdering Swedish journalist. The Mossad considered assassinating renowned Swedish left-wing journalist Jan Guillou in the 1970s, according to a book just published in Sweden.
Romania denies allegations it hosted secret CIA prisons. The Romanian Foreign Ministry rejects revelations in a New York Timesarticle that a downtown Bucharest building served as a major secret CIA prison after 9/11.
Iran releases on bail French woman accused of spying. Clotilde Reiss had been held in Tehran’s Evin jail since being arrested on July 1. She will now have to stay at the French embassy in Tehran while she awaits the verdict in her trial, which was heard on August 8.