Locations of Turkey (Green) and Iran (Orange). Credit: Marmelad via Wikimedia Commons
A suspected Iranian intelligence agent was arrested in Turkey on Tuesday in connection with violent proteststaking place in that country, Turkish news agency Today’s Zaman reported. According to an anonymous government source, Shayan Shamloo was “suspected to have played a provocateur role,” and is one of several Iranian nationals arrested in connection with the demonstrations.
Another Iranian citizen, Ramin Sarabi, who is suspected to have links to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (an elite military branch and political, economic, and social force in the Persian state), was arrested on similar charges to Shamloo on Tuesday.
The article also explains that on Monday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan briefly mentioned the possibility of foreign involvement in the ongoing protests, a day after Erdoğan criticized Iran and Hezbollah for playing a role in the devastating Syrian war.
Analysts say that the Iranian government is a supporter of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which, among other Kurdish groups, has been waging a decades-long rebellion against the Turkish state for autonomy. Last September, nine suspected Iranian spies were arrested for espionage activities involving the PKK, indicating that Iranian operatives are heavily active in Turkey in order to retain leverage and control in disputes with its neighbour and former ally. Further, observers note that Tuesday’s arrests suggest an attempt by Iran to take advantage of the demonstrations in Turkey in order to focus the government’s attention away from the conflict in Syria, and instead focus on the country’s internal security challenges.
The incidents in Turkey’s capital Ankara began May 30th after protests against construction plans for Taksim Gezi Park were met with a strong police response.
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