The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on Monday issued a statement saying its intelligence organization arrested Ruhollah Zam, an anti-Iran media activist living in Paris, in a “complex intelligence operation outside the country.”
Zam operates the Telegram channel Amad News (a.k.a. Sedaiemardom – Voice of the People), which he founded in 2015. He played a high-profile role in covering and promoting the 2017–18 anti-government protests in Iran. He is a regular guest on Voice of America in Persian.
The IRGC statement describes Zam as a “tool in the hands of espionage services and anti-Iran bodies” and accuses him of “publishing false news against the country.”
Zam was arrested by the IRGC Intelligence service outside Iran and was taken back to the Islamic Republic. The IRGC statement thanks Allah for “arresting in a complex operation one of the main figures behind the psychological war against the Islamic Republic.”
The statement notes that IRGC surprised and arrested the “evil and mercenary agent,” showing the group’s “upper hand against intelligence agencies of the enemies.”
The statement notes that IRGC’s Intelligence Organization has arrested Zam in “a professional, smart and multifaceted operation using modern intelligence methods and innovative techniques to handle and trick foreign intelligence services.”
According to Radio Farda, Ruhollah Zam, himself the son of a Shiite cleric, turned against the Mullahs’ rule after the 2009 presidential election protests, and was put in jail. When he was released, Zam fled to Paris. Since then, he has been a thorn in the side of the Iranian authorities, as only a child of the system can be.
According to Mehr News, Amad News is now under the IRGC’s control.