Turkish authorities have arrested at least six people, including an Iranian national, on charges of carrying out political and military espionage for Iran, in an operation centred in Istanbul but which also took place in four other provinces, leading to the arrest of the suspects.
As reported by the Turkish daily Hürriyet, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, in coordination with the Police Anti-Terrorism Department and the National Intelligence Organisation (MİT), launched the operation aimed at uncovering “political and military espionage” activities.
Investigations revealed that the six arrested suspects were in contact with intelligence officers of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and were engaged in intelligence gathering and logistical support in relation to strategically important military and air bases in Turkey, as well as other critical locations abroad.
The “spies” were also found to be conducting surveillance and reconnaissance at NATO’s major air base at İncirlik, located in the Turkish province of Adana, and were involved in sending unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) from Türkiye to third States for operational purposes. All information obtained on Turkish territory was subsequently transferred to Iranian intelligence services.
On the basis of these investigations, and following operations in the provinces of Istanbul, Van, Samsun, Yalova and Ankara, Turkish security forces arrested six persons identified as Iranian national Ashkan Jalali and Turkish nationals Remzi Beyaz, Alican Koç, Erhan Ergelen, Taner Özcan and Cemal Beyaz. After interrogation, the suspects of spying for Iran were brought before the court and a judge ordered them to be remanded in custody, according to the prosecutor’s office.
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Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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