Iran rejects Western accusations as ‘baseless’

Iran yesterday rejected accusations by the US and more than a dozen of its allies that Tehran had attempted to kill or kidnap dissidents, journalists and officials in Western countries.

In a statement, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei described the claims as "baseless", calling them "an attempt to divert public attention from the most pressing issue of the day, the genocide in occupied Palestine".

Western governments including the United States, Britain, France and Germany condemned in a joint statement on Thursday "the growing number of state threats from Iranian intelligence services in our respective territories".

"We are united in our opposition to the attempts of Iranian intelligence services to kill, kidnap, and harass people in Europe and North America in clear violation of our sovereignty," they said.

"These services are increasingly collaborating with international criminal organisations to target journalists, dissidents, Jewish citizens, and current and former officials in Europe and North America."

Baqaei said the accusations were "blatant fabrications... designed as part of a malicious Iranophobia campaign aimed at exerting pressure on the great Iranian nation".

Since early 2022, Britain says it has disrupted more than 20 Iran-linked plots to kidnap or kill individuals in the United Kingdom, including British nationals and others Tehran views as threats.

In October, Reuters reported that Iran was behind a wave of attempted assassinations and abductions across Europe and the United States.