June 7 – The BBC accused Iran this week of ramping up its intimidation of Persian journalists at the news agency and said it had seen a “disturbing rise in the persecution of their family members.”
The BBC said staff had experienced an increase in violence and threats designed to prevent them from carrying out their work.
Tim Davie, the BBC’s director general, called on Tehran to cease its “campaign of intimidation.” Iran has denied any involvement in the incidents.
The Finnish Security and Intelligence Service said it had identified Iran as a foreign intelligence threat following reports that it was actively conducting espionage operations in Finland.
The service said the operations were designed to gather information about dissidents and opposition groups based abroad, often through human intelligence, in order to “silence voices critical of the regime.”
Operations in other Nordic countries were also uncovered. An annual threat assessment produced by the Swedish Security Police confirmed a sharp rise in the Islamic Republic’s intelligence efforts in Sweden.
And a nationwide truck drivers strike in Iran, calling for better pay and working conditions, and in its third week, has spread to at least 163 cities.
Iran’s government has responded to the protests with the arrest and detention of drivers, with at least 40 drivers and supporters arrested since June 3.
The strike has garnered support from people inside Iran, as well as truck drivers in France and the UK.
