The authorities in Iran have detained a German national who was allegedly taking photos of "sensitive oil centres" in the southern province of Khuzestan, news agency Reuters reported on Tuesday, quoting Iranian daily Jam-e Jam. The individual was reportedly detained while taking photos of the Aghajari oilfield, according to the report that did not give further details on this.
The Iranian judiciary is yet to comment on the matter, the Reuters report said.
Barely a week ago, the German police arrested an Iranian man suspected to have been planning a chemical attack. According to The Guardian, he was "motivated by Islamic extremism". The suspect's brother was detained. The German police made their move after being tipped off by a foreign intelligence agency that the 32-year-old suspect had secured chemicals, such as cyanide and ricin.
The developments come amid tensions between Iran and Western powers, including Germany, over alleged interference in the country's internal affairs during the recent anti-government protests sparked by the death of a young Iranian-Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of Iran's morality police in September 2022. Iran has accused Western countries, Israel, and Saudi Arabia of fuelling the unrest and has arrested several dual-nationals and foreigners in response.
However, the Iranian government claims to have been “falsely implicated” by the international community over the death of Mahsa Amini. Director General of International Affairs of the Vice Presidency for Women and Family Affairs Khadijeh Karimi earlier told ABP Live that terrorists and large scale weapons have made their way into Iran in the wake of the protests.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Bagheri Kani, who was in India in November last year, too said that the 22-year-old Amini, also known as Jina Amini, was not murdered. "Mahsa Amini was not killed. She passed away," he said and blamed the West for "killing Iranian daughters".