As Iranian security agencies have been arresting a number of environmentalists, officials from President Hassan Rouhani's administration are pushing back against the agencies’ ability to charge that those arrested are spies.
In an interview with Iran Newspaper, which is published by the administration, presidential adviser Ali Younessi said that only the Intelligence Ministry has the expertise to determine who is a spy. “Only the counter-espionage department of the Intelligence Ministry can express an expert opinion on who is a spy and who is not,” Younessi said. “Just as we don’t expect the Labor Ministry to perform the duties of the Industry Ministry, we have to accept that the Intelligence Ministry has proficiency in its work, and no other organization can enter that field and perform professional work.”
