Israeli report details Iranian NGO activity in London

Research paper notes multiple UK organizations with ties to Hezbollah, Khamenei.

By YAAKOV KATZ
Iran embassy in London_311 (photo credit: Reuters)
Iran embassy in London_311
(photo credit: Reuters)
At a time of increasing isolation and in face of growing economic sanctions, Iran is operating a number of NGOs inside Britain aimed at advancing the Islamic Revolution, according to a new research paper compiled by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center on Tuesday.
According to the report, two of the organizations are run by senior Iranian clerics who are closely affiliated with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Two additional organizations are run by a Pakistani Shi’ite and an Iranian expat.
“The organizations present themselves as independent but they are really a branch of the Iranian regime and are used by Tehran to advance Iranian interests in Britain and the West,” the report claims.
The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center was established in 2001 as a branch of the Israel Intelligence Heritage and Commemoration Center. It works closely with Israel’s various intelligence agencies and is run by Dr. Reuven Erlich, a former colonel in Military Intelligence.
One of the groups mentioned in the report, called AhlulBayt Islamic Mission (AIM), is an offshoot of a Tehran-based organization of the same name which is run by Mohammad Hassan Akhtari, Iran’s former ambassador to Syria.
Click here for full Jpost coverage of the Iranian threat
Click here for full Jpost coverage of the Iranian threat
According to the report, when Akhtari was in Damascus, he assisted Hezbollah while it was being established in the mid- 1980s.
The London branch, the report claimed, works to strengthen Iran in the United Kingdom. One post on the organization’s website claimed that the United States and Israel were behind the violent uprising in Syria.
Another organization mentioned in the report is the Islamic Center of England, which was established in 1996 by Ayatollah Mohsen Araki who served as Khamenei’s personal envoy to London in the 1990s.
According to the report, the center is active in “Jerusalem Day” activities which are held annually by Iran to oppose Zionism and protest against the State of Israel.
The report included photos from anti- Israel demonstrations held recently in London where some of the participants waved Hezbollah flags were and carried signs reading “We are all Hezbollah.”
“Britain is an important area of operations for Iran in exporting the revolution,” the report claims. “Britain is an important ally of the United States and there are convenient conditions for operating there due to the large and developed media, the tolerant authorities and the large Muslim population.”