Espionage, murder and harassment: Iran’s troubled opposition mirrors the regime it is fighting

Danish authorities discovered alleged espionage for Saudi Arabia while vetting computer network for possible hacking by the Iranian regime, Borzou Daragahi reports

Iranian Americans wave Iranian opposition flags at the '2020 LA Convention for Free Iran' (AP)

To their supporters they are fearless activists, agitating against the Islamic Republic of Iran while dodging regime operatives dispatched to hunt them down.

But according to Danish and Dutch authorities, the four men arrested late on Monday were also spies for Saudi Arabia. Since at least 2012, they allegedly conducted surveillance of European businesses and individuals and reported back to the regime in Riyadh.

Police and security officials announced the arrest of the as-yet unnamed members of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz (ASMLA), which Iran’s regime has described as a terrorist organisation behind a number of violent attacks inside the Islamic Republic.