Iran on Friday rejected accusations by the United States and more than a dozen 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 dismissed 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.”
The rebuke came after Western governments, including the United States, Britain, France, and Germany, condemned Iran in a joint statement on Thursday.
“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.
The statement further accused Iran of collaborating with criminal networks, noting, “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 rejected the allegations, describing them as “blatant fabrications… designed as part of a malicious Iranophobia campaign aimed at exerting pressure on the great Iranian nation.”
