VZCZCXRO8113
PP RUEHBC RUEHKUK
DE RUEHDE #4108/01 1841444
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P R 031444Z JUL 06
FM AMCONSUL DUBAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1913
INFO RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 4887
RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI 1608
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 DUBAI 004108 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  7/3/2016 
TAGS: IR PREL PHUM PINR
SUBJECT: IRAN SEES SPIES EVERYWHERE, INCLUDING IN JAHANBEGLOO 
 
REF: DUBAI 3263 
 
DUBAI 00004108  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Jason L Davis, Consul General, Dubai, UAE. 
REASON: 1.4 (d) 
 
1.(S/NF) Summary:  Intelligence Minister Mohseni Ejei accuses 
detained Iranian intellectual Ramin Jahanbegloo of helping US to 
try to start a "velvet revolution" in Iran, but says the case is 
not yet complete.  A friend of Jahanbegloo says other 
well-placed contacts cite similar charges against Jahanbegloo 
and that the supreme leader says he will be charged with 
espionage.  This contact recommends indirect but persistent 
pressure from the US on Iran to free him.  Mohseni Ejei accuses 
the US of trying to topple the Islamic government and training 
Iranians as spies.  However, he claims Iranian 
counterintelligence abilities allow Iran to know US decisions 
made "behind closed doors."  End summary. 
 
Jahanbegloo Accused of Plotting a Velvet Revolution with US 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
---------------- 
 
2.(U)) In his first press conference since taking office, 
Iranian Intelligence Minister Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei said 
July 2 that Iranian-Canadian professor Ramin Jahanbegloo was 
arrested on suspicion of working with the US to start a "velvet 
revolution" in Iran.  He clarified, however, that the 
Intelligence Ministry had not finished its investigation of 
Jahanbegloo's case. 
 
3.(S/NF) Mohseni Ejei's comments support what a reliable contact 
told Acting Consul General the day before.  This contact claims 
to be a close friend of Jahanbegloo and says he is actively 
working for his release.  He and other friends have heard from 
former Majles Speaker Karroubi, one of Expediency Council Chair 
Rafsanjani's sons, and others that the Intelligence Ministry's 
cultural office initiated Jahanbegloo's arrest and that a 
"double agent" claimed Jahanbegloo was promoting an "orange 
revolution."  (This contact did not mention any link to the US.) 
 His sources have heard that Jahanbegloo, detained in early May, 
was being held on a four-month warrant.  Presumably he could be 
released then, but the contact also heard that the supreme 
leader told former Iranian Ambassador to France Sadeq Kharrazi 
that Jahanbegloo would be charged with espionage.  On the other 
hand, the contact takes some hope from indications, such as 
Supreme Council for National Security Deputy Secretary Ali 
Monfared's message to Jahanbegloo's wife to call him any time, 
that not all in the government were convinced of his friend's 
guilt. 
 
4.(S/NF) This contact thought the government had deliberately 
chosen Jahanbegloo, who is not a hardcore political activist but 
rather a secular-minded intellectual, in order to intimidate the 
'thinking class' as well as the 'activist class.'  This contact 
also believes the Iranian government is using Jahanbegloo's 
detention to test the West to see how much an issue it makes of 
the case during this time of intense focus on the nuclear issue. 
 That said, the contact's advice to the USG, echoing other 
contacts reported in reftel, was not to make it a US issue with 
Iran, but to push Iran indirectly.  He suggested going to 
others, such as the UN and the EU, and asking them to raise the 
issue in their direct contacts with  Iran. 
 
5.(S/NF) This contact said he and other friends of Jahanbegloo 
are trying to frame Jahanbegloo's case as an international 
issue, encouraging notables from around the world to sign 
petitions.  They also have been trying to get the Arabic press 
to focus on Jahanbegloo's case because the Iranian government 
cares more about what the Arabic street thought of it than the 
Western street, but to date they have had no success.  He asked 
that the US do anything it can to get the Arabic press to pick 
up the issue. 
 
6.(S/NF) This source, who claims to be in close contact with 
Jahanbegloo's wife, said he does not think Jahanbegloo has been 
tortured.  However, his interrogator (nfi) is skillfully 
manipulating his wife by being her only point of contact, 
calling her, sometimes allowing, sometimes withholding contact 
between her and her husband, etc.  This interrogator asked her 
to tell the BBC that her husband is fine, but she refused. 
 
Mohseni Ejei: US Trying to Topple Regime 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
7.(U) According to Mehrnews.com, Mohseni Ejei in his press 
conference also accused the US of trying to topple the Islamic 
Republic by training elements inside and outside the country. 
The enemy is trying to show that the government is inefficient. 
Furthermore, "they are making numerous efforts to foment 
 
DUBAI 00004108  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
insecurity and tension in Iran" and have allocated more than the 
$75 million officially announced to be used to "train spies." 
 
8.(U) Mohseni Ejei praised Iran's counterintelligence 
capabilities.  The intelligence ministry "keeps track of and is 
ready to deal with all internal and external measures" against 
the government.  "We are currently in a good position in terms 
of conducting technical intelligence activities and are even 
aware of some decisions that the enemy makes behind closed 
doors." 
 
9.(U) Regarding recent ethnic unrest in Khuzestan, Sistan-va 
Baluchestan, East Azarbaijan and West Azarbaijan, he said ethnic 
groups are not threats but opportunities for the Islamic system. 
 However, the US is trying to use both ethnic groups and 
non-governmental organizations in Iran to fight against the 
country.  In the case of Azarbaijan, the people did not "allow 
the enemy to exploit the situation."  Regarding NGOs, "They (the 
US) take various NGO members abroad to educate them.  Recently 
some people have been officially invited to be trained in the US 
under the pretext of attending scientific seminars or for 
business or employment.  The initial financial assistance given 
to them is not enough to arouse suspicion that they have been 
invited to be trained as spies." 
 
10.(S/NF) Comment: The contact quoted above is reportedly a 
close friend of Jahanbegloo, and this friendship clearly colors 
the advice he is giving the US.  He is afraid that his friend 
will pay the price if the US publicly pounds Iran on 
Jahanbegloo's case.  At the same time, he does not want the US 
to forget about his friend's situation in the pursuit of a 
nuclear solution.  His advice of quiet, consistent pressure is 
likely the best in the current situation. 
 
11.(S/NF) Comment continued: Mohseni-Ejei's general comments 
about the threat of spies everywhere indicates a general 
paranoia that should be used to demonstrate the government's 
disconnect with its population.  In our public rhetoric, we 
should ask why the Iranian government does not trust its people 
and why it wants to withhold from them the education that can 
come from interacting with outside organizations on all types of 
issues, including civil society. 
BURNS