Ha'aretz, July 16, 1999
Jewish tattlers led to arrests in Iran
By Akiva Eldar, Ha'aretz CorrespondentInternal conflicts within the Jewish community of Iran, climaxing in informants going to the authorities, were behind the April arrests of 13 Jews on suspicion of espionage, senior government officials have learned.
The effort to secure the release of the detainees is on Prime Minister Ehud Barak's agenda in his meetings with President Bill Clinton in Washington this week.
After the initial public protests over the arrests were used by the Iranian authorities as alleged confirmation of the detainees' Israeli-American contacts, Israel has decided to focus its rescue efforts on secret contacts via European states that have open channels to Iran.
Based on information transmitted to Israel by Iranian Jews living in the United States, primarily in Los Angeles, the 13 detainees were originally arrested on suspicions of smuggling and forgery, following a period of heightened tension between the Jewish communities of Tehran and Shiraz, caused by economic rivalry.
The two communities consist largely of businessmen, who identify themselves as Iranians and avoid any contact with Israel, remaining in Iran of their own free will. Until recently, most of them enjoyed favorable treatment from the authorities and relative freedom to travel to the West on business.
Investigations conducted by the authorities in both Israel and the U.S. have found nothing to indicate any ties between the detained Jews and groups outside Iran. Speculation now is that the decision to "upgrade" the charges against them from financial to espionage offenses was one of the first indications of the internal struggle within Iran between the conservative and moderate groups.
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