Thai Police on Alert for 'Iranian Spies'

A former Iranian intelligence agent appears at a Bangkok court in connection to the 2012 blast. (AFP)
A former Iranian intelligence agent appears at a Bangkok court in connection to the 2012 blast. (AFP)
TT
20

Thai Police on Alert for 'Iranian Spies'

A former Iranian intelligence agent appears at a Bangkok court in connection to the 2012 blast. (AFP)
A former Iranian intelligence agent appears at a Bangkok court in connection to the 2012 blast. (AFP)

The Royal Thai Police issued a “secret order” to police officers nationwide to stay on high alert over the potential presence of Iranian spies in the southeastern Asian country.

The Bangkok Post on Monday cited a police source saying that Thai security agencies are closely monitoring the movement of Iranian nationals who are believed to be operating as spies in Thailand.

The newspaper quoted a source saying that on May 24 last year, Thai police received information about Ghassem Saberi Gilchalan, who arrived in the country carrying a Bulgarian passport which was later found to be fake.

It added that on May 27 last year, the man was arrested by Indonesian authorities at Soekarno–Hatta International Airport just before departing for Qatar.

Indonesian police found that he had entered the country at least 10 times using false papers. A court sentenced him to two years in jail for the offenses and that the man had 11 mobile phones, one tablet computer, a number of SIM cards and cash worth more than B320,000.

The source added that after further interrogation, Gilchalan told police that he had been given several assignments by a former Iranian diplomat in Malaysia to act as a spy both there and in Indonesia several times.

The latest attempt involved lobbying Indonesian authorities to release the Iranian-flagged MT Horse oil tanker apprehended in the country’s waters in January 2021.

The man also set up a company as a front in Bali which was use as a safe house for his covert operations, the source added.

“In light of this, it is possible that spies from Iran may also be engaging in secret operations in Thailand using fake passports,” the source said, adding there have been concerns over Thailand’s’ hosting of the APEC Summit in November which will be attended by world leaders.

“We can't afford to let any unrest or violence happen,” the source stressed, adding that authorities wanted to avoid an attack similar to the February 2012 Sukhumvit 71 explosion.

Three Iranian men were arrested and jailed in connection with a bomb believed to have gone off prematurely targeting Israeli diplomats in Bangkok.

One man had his legs blown off after he tried to throw a bomb at police.

In November 2020, the Iranian prisoners were sent home to serve out their sentences under a prisoner swap agreement to release British-Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert.

The lecturer was held in Tehran on spying charges she denies.

Two Iranians had been deported, while a third was pardoned in August, Thai officials said.



France Plans to Take Iran to Int’l Court over Citizen Detentions

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot (R) during a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Ministers of Foreign Affairs meeting in Brussels, Belgium, 03 April 2025.  EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot (R) during a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Ministers of Foreign Affairs meeting in Brussels, Belgium, 03 April 2025. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET
TT
20

France Plans to Take Iran to Int’l Court over Citizen Detentions

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot (R) during a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Ministers of Foreign Affairs meeting in Brussels, Belgium, 03 April 2025.  EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot (R) during a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Ministers of Foreign Affairs meeting in Brussels, Belgium, 03 April 2025. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET

Two French citizens held in Iran for almost three years have not had consular services for more than a year prompting Paris to prepare a complaint at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), France's foreign ministry said on Thursday.
Cecile Kohler and her partner Jacques Paris have been held since May 2022. Iranian state television aired a video later that year with them appearing to confess to acting on behalf of French intelligence services, something categorically denied by Paris.
Held in Tehran's Evin prison, France has accused Iran of keeping them in conditions akin to torture.
French officials have toughened their language towards Iran, notably over the advancement of its nuclear program and regional activities, but also the detention of European citizens in the country.
Speaking after a rare cabinet meeting to broadly discuss Iran on Wednesday, France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot indicated Paris would soon take the matter of violating the right to consular protection to the ICJ.
"We are putting together a complaint that we will file at the ICJ," Foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine told reporters at a news conference on Thursday, adding that the Kohler and Paris were being held in "shocking" conditions.
According to Reuters, Lemoine declined to say when it would be filed and acknowledged that procedures at the ICJ were long, but insisted that Tehran needed to be called out on the issue because the embassy and consulate had not had access to their citizens for more than a year.
"It's in violation of Iran's obligations," he said, citing the Vienna convention on consular relations.
In recent years, Iran's Revolutionary Guards have arrested dozens of dual nationals and foreigners, mostly on charges related to espionage and security.
Rights groups have accused Iran of trying to extract concessions from other countries through such arrests.
Iran, which does not recognize dual nationality, denies taking prisoners to gain diplomatic leverage.