Malley-led Yale course on Iran lists speakers tied to Islamic Republic – JNS

Lindsay and Craig Foreman, from East Sussex, were arrested during a motorcycle world tour and later charged with espionage—allegations they deny. Their son, Joe Bennett, said the couple were assigned a “state-appointed lawyer they only just met.”

“We cannot see how [this] could be considered to be a fair trial,” Bennett said, expressing alarm over the opaque process and lack of transparency.

Concerns grow over health and consular access

Craig Foreman, held at Evin Prison for the past 25 days, has no access to funds or hygiene supplies, according to his son.

The British ambassador had been scheduled to visit Craig, but the family says the meeting didn’t happen—possibly because he had already been taken to court. Meanwhile, Lindsay Foreman was seen by the ambassador and given essential items.

“The lack of transparency only deepens our concern,” said Bennett. “Craig has already lost weight, and now, with no access to food beyond the bare minimum, I can only guess at how he must be.”

Detained and tortured, source tells Iran International

In July, Iran International reported that the couple had been held in solitary confinement for months and subjected to torture by agents of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence. A source familiar with the case said they were beaten, deprived of sleep, and threatened with execution during interrogations meant to extract confessions.

Despite these conditions, both have maintained their innocence.

Arrested in January while touring the country

The couple, both in their 50s, entered Iran from Armenia during a world motorcycle trip. They were arrested on January 4 near the city of Kerman and charged with spying. The UK government has denied the charges and repeatedly called for their release.

“We are deeply concerned by reports that two British nationals have been charged with espionage in Iran,” the Foreign Office has said. “We are providing them with consular assistance and remain in close contact with their family members.”

Detainees as bargaining chips

Iran has a long history of detaining foreign nationals—often dual citizens—in what rights groups and Western governments view as politically motivated actions aimed at securing diplomatic leverage or concessions.

Tehran has denied that its detentions are political in nature.

Abouzar Rahmati, 43, a naturalized US citizen and resident of Great Falls, Virginia, received a 12-month sentence in US District Court in Washington after pleading guilty in April to acting as an unregistered agent of the Iranian government and to conspiracy.

Judge Loren L. AliKhan also ordered three years of supervised release.

“By secretly doing the bidding of the Iranian government, Mr. Rahmati violated the trust placed in him as a US citizen and as a federal contractor with access to sensitive information,” US Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said in announcing the sentence.

“Ensuring that sensitive US information does not fall into the hands of hostile foreign intelligence services remains one of our highest priorities.”

Rahmati began cooperating with Iranian officials in 2017 after offering his services to a former Ministry of Intelligence contact, according to prosecutors.

He traveled to Iran later that year, meeting intelligence officers and agreeing to gather information under the guise of academic research.

On his return, Rahmati collected both public and restricted materials on the US solar energy industry and provided them to Iranian officials. He later took a job with a Federal Aviation Administration contractor, where prosecutors said he accessed sensitive non-public data on aviation systems.

In 2022, Rahmati traveled to Iran with more than 170 gigabytes of FAA contractor files stored on removable media. Iranian intelligence officers told him they sought advanced technology unavailable in Iran and promised financial rewards for useful material, according to court records.

“Rahmati exploited his trusted position to obtain sensitive information about the US aviation sector and share it with the Iranian government,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Daniel Wierzbicki said.

“Today’s sentencing demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to disrupt threats to US critical infrastructure.”

The FBI and FAA's counterintelligence division were involved in the investigation. Rahmati will begin serving his sentence immediately.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will stand alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping during the September 3 event, which marks the anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will also attend, the ministry said.

China said 26 heads of state and government will participate in the parade, including leaders from Belarus, Serbia, Indonesia, and Slovakia. The only EU leader attending will be Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico, according to the ministry.

The parade will feature tens of thousands of Chinese troops and advanced weapons systems on display at Tiananmen Square, including hypersonic missiles, fighter jets and air defense platforms.

UN Under-Secretary-General Li Junhua will represent the United Nations at the event, which Beijing has framed as a show of international solidarity with the Global South.

Iran’s attendance comes months after President Pezeshkian was notably absent from Russia’s Victory Day parade in May, despite Tehran’s deepening military and diplomatic ties with Moscow.

The lack of visible representation led to domestic debate in Iran over the optics of its relationship with Russia.

Australia expelled Iran’s ambassador to the country after it accused Tehran of backing attacks on Jewish targets in the country, including arson on a synagogue, in a separate case involving other suspects..

Australia said Iran guided arson attacks on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne December 2024 and Lewis’ Continental Kitchen in Sydney last year.

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) said it had traced funding to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Iran has denied the allegations.

Detailed communications among the alleged perpetrators show the ringleader of the attack on the restaurant was a man named Sayed Moosawi, according to the documents cited by the newspaper.

Moosawi, it added, recruited another individual, Wayne Ogden, to plan an attack on the Curly Lewis Brewery — a site with no apparent connection to the Jewish community or faith.

Ogden, together with another suspect Joun Amoui, drove to the brewery wearing masks and rubber gloves one of them armed with a sledgehammer. However, Signal messages indicate that Amoui panicked and fled the scene when spotted by a member of the public.

Moosawi, who referred to himself as “James Bond” in the messages, reacted furiously, cursing at the two and berating them for their ineptitude.

The pair later regrouped with two new accomplices, Guy Finnegan and Craig Banfoft, in a renewed attempt to torch the brewery. That arson attempt failed as well, with sprinklers extinguishing the fire and limiting damage.

In subsequent messages, one of the accomplices even joked that the group might be targeting the wrong site. Eventually, in October 2024, the team succeeded in setting fire to the Curly Lewis Brewery’s kitchen, causing extensive damage.

According to court evidence, Moosawi allegedly paid $12,000 in total and offered $4,000 to the two accomplices to complete the attack. He has a prior criminal record and arrived in Australia in 2005 with his family on refugee status.

The prime minister said the government’s actions sent a clear message that foreign-directed aggression on Australian soil would not be tolerated.

"They're just using cut-outs, including people who are criminals and members of organized crime gangs to do their bidding or direct their bidding," Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) Mike Burgess told reporters on Tuesday.

Younes Ali Younes, 20, appeared in Melbourne’s Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with stealing a car and setting fire to the Adass Israel synagogue on December 6.

He did not seek bail or enter a plea. Another man, Giovanni Laulu, 21, was charged last month on the same counts.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday that investigators uncovered a “supply chain” of payments leading from local criminals to Tehran.

“Security forces have done extraordinary work to trace the source of the funding of these criminal elements who’ve been used as tools of the Iranian regime,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

A tip-off from Israeli intelligence assisted ASIO during the inquiry, Sky News reported on Wednesday, with confidential sources confirming Israel provided a lead in relation to one of the firebombings.

Most of the work, however — including mapping networks of suspects and breaking through encrypted messaging — was conducted by ASIO investigators.

The attack was captured on CCTV showing three hooded figures unloading jerry cans of fuel from a stolen car before igniting the synagogue’s entrance and fleeing. Police said lives were endangered as people were inside at the time, though no injuries occurred.

Albanese on Tuesday expelled Iran’s ambassador after receiving a briefing from the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, joining other Western governments accusing Tehran of covert operations abroad.

Security agencies in Britain and Sweden have previously warned of Iran’s use of criminal proxies, while London has reported foiling 20 Iran-linked plots since 2022.

Iran’s foreign ministry rejected the accusations.

Victoria state’s Joint Counter Terrorism Team described the arson as politically motivated and involving offshore direction, while Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said local perpetrators likely had no knowledge of who ultimately ordered the attack.