with Iranian expatriates living abroad to protect them from abuse by foreign governments and to take advantage of their knowledge and skills, Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi said last week.
The fact that the intelligence minister was talking about linking up with expatriates raised eyebrows among some who noted his remarks.
Usually relations with expats are handled by the Foreign Ministry and the Interior Ministry. This was believed to be the first time the intelligence minister had inserted himself in expat issues.
Some found Moslehi’s remarks a bit menacing, as when he said that Iran could extend its “strategic depth” if Iranian expatriates “are properly organized.” He said that all over the world emigrants have become a “multidimensional opportunity” for the country of their birth. He didn’t say what aspects of that multidimensional opportunity the Intelligence Ministry hoped to tap into. But the hint that the Intelligence Ministry wished to recruit Iranian expatriates—possibly to spy on the host countries, possibly to spy on other Iranian expatriates—did not go unnoticed.
Speaking Saturday at a symposium on expatriate accomplishments, Moslehi said that Iranian expats had frequently been “abused” politically and culturally in the countries where they reside. That suggested to some that Moslehi hoped to appeal to those who felt “abused” to spy on the countries where they live.
Moslehi said the Islamic Republic needed to build more links with Iranian citizens living abroad with the goal of building mutual trust.
He also spoke of the generation of Iranians born abroad to Iranian parents, saying that special attention must be paid to them so they do not become alienated from their language, culture and citizenship. This has been a major theme of expat relations for many years, dating back to the Rafsanjani Administration in the 1990s.
Moslehi also spoke of a fear that expats might be recruited to work against the Islamic Republic. He said most Iranian expatriates live in countries that are hostile to the Islamic revolution so the regime must “communicate with expatriates so they are not manipulated by those foreign intelligence services.”
He said outright that the Iranian regime must encourage expats to work with the Iranian government to prevent foreign intelligence services from recruiting them to help with plots against the Islamic Republic. He said the promotion of national identity and emphasis on shared national values could save the expats from falling into foreign traps.
Acting Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi, who lived in the United States and obtained his doctorate in nuclear science from MIT before the revolution, also spoke to the conference.
He said Iran must tap into the resources of expatriates who have gained much useful experience working abroad. He suggested that Iranian universities make a point of contacting expatriate academics and inviting them to work in Iran as visiting lecturers and researchers for a few months each year.
Salehi also commented, “Due to global developments, communication has become easier and the world has become smaller, so we can take maximum advantage of the potential of Iranian expatriates.”
