Le Figaro, France

How the U.S. Spies on Iran

By George Malbrunot

Translated By Sandra Stark

December 05, 2007

France - Le Figaro - Original Article (French)

HOW THE UNITED STATES SPIES ON IRAN

Since the Weapons of Mass Destruction fiasco in Iraq, America is concentrating its efforts on human information. A report published Monday on American intelligence estimates that Iran does not represent any imminent threat, and that Tehran suspended its nuclear military program in 2003.  To arrive at these surprising conclusions, the US says that it used new methods of collecting information on Iran.  What are they?

THE COLLECTION METHODS

The most important information on Iran was obtained through electronic images supplied by satellites placed above the country (such as modifications in the security of nuclear sites and repair of underground facilities). "Part of this information is communicated to the Israelis, who do not have sufficient satellite capability available, since theirs is concentrated on Lebanon and Syria," stated an official with the French Ministry of Defense, who underlined the level of cooperation between the US and Israel concerning the threat of Iran.

Since their failure in Iraq - where the CIA, during the rule of Saddam Hussein, had very few human sources - American information services have relied on human information, either direct or indirect, which the presence of 140,000 military personnel has been able to reinforce. "We have made more analyses and collected more information, from that which was public and pertinent," an official of the CIA stated last weekend.  Is it the result of new politics?  Or is it perhaps due to the action of Israeli commandos?  Last January 18th, doctor Ardeshir Hassanpour, one of the brains behind the Iranian nuclear program, died of poisoning in Iran.  February 7th, Ali Reza Asgari, a former official of the Revolutionary Guards, who protect nuclear sites, defected to the United States, via Turkey.   On April 30th, Hossein Mousavian, a negotiator on nuclear programs with Europe was arrested in Tehran.  There he is accused of having transmitted sensitive information to the English.  There have also been many "accidents" involving helicopters transporting Revolutionary Guards, who have just been named a terrorist organization by the United States.

AGENTS ON THE SPOT

The Islamic Marxist Moujahidin opponents in the Ashraf camp of Iraq, 50 km from Iran, have long been credited with a network of information on that country.  They were the ones who revealed on August 14, 2002, the existence of a uranium enrichment factory in Natanz and the construction of a heavy water reactor in Arak.  "The Americans have been able to send them information to incite negative reactions to the Iranian regime."  observes a diplomat.  But today, the operational capacity of the Moujahidin, evidently infiltrated by Tehran, seems reduced.

What is left is the Kurds, in the north of Iraq, who are allied with Washington. "The Americans put pressure on us to lead destabilization efforts in Iran, but we are resisting", one of their officials said to Figaro.  In this nest of spies, the Israeli Mossad, which has long cooperated with the KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party), looks for targets on the other side of the border [in Iran].  Or for commando operations against the "architects" of Iran's nuclear program like Hassanpour, which, congruent with its history, Mossad tirelessly tried to eliminate.

"The British service, from their side, are firmly planted in the north of Iran in the Kurdish majority area," adds a former European counter-espionage chief. The deployment of troops from [the U.K.] in the south of Iraq also permits them to infiltrate the province of Khuzestan, where the nuclear project of Bouchehr is located, and which is also the location of the Arab "minority," a province which has regularly been the center of trouble in the past few years.

IRANIAN COUNTERMEASURES

Tehran charged the Bassidjis Militia and the Revolutionary Guard Corps (Pasdaran) to control the population, which is not their primary mission.  But it was not enough.  Since 2005, Tehran has used a new intelligence service, Oghab 2, exclusively dedicated to the protection of its nuclear program, against outside operations.  The creation of this agency was decided after the arrest of many agents sent to collect information on two nuclear sites which had not been discovered by the International Atomic Energy Agency: Parshin (southeast of Tehran) and Lavizan (to the north east).

How many people does Oghab 2 have?  Have they received training in certain countries friendly to Iran?  It is difficult to know for sure.  On the other hand, intelligence specialists are unanimous on one point: it is very difficult to infiltrate Iran.  "Foreign services traditionally have very few high level contacts in Iran," divulged one former counter-espionage professional.  This would explain the difficulty encountered by the American "big ears" in establishing their surprising report on a nuclear Iran.