Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) says they have arrested seven people with links to Britain, including dual citizens, on charges that they allegedly teamed up with each other to direct ongoing nationwide anti-government protests.
The IRGC alleged in a December 25 statement that the arrested individuals formed a team inside and outside the country with "direct guidance from England" and were operating with the intention of "overthrowing the system."
In response to a reporter's question about the arrests of dual citizens with ties to Britain, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said it reflected "London's destructive role" in what he described as "riots."
"Some countries, especially the one you mentioned, had an unconstructive role regarding the recent developments in Iran," Kananni was quoted as saying by Reuters on December 26. "Their role was totally destructive and incited the riots."
The British Foreign And Commonwealth Office has said that it is seeking additional information on the reported arrests of British-Iranian dual nationals.
Mass demonstrations against Iran's clerical establishment have been ongoing for months and are considered to be the biggest threat to the government's rule since it took power following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The protests began following the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained by Iran's morality police for an alleged violation of the state-mandated requirement that women wear a head scarf.
Officials in Iran have tried to portray the more than three months of demonstrations as a foreign plot. Rights groups say that the government's violent crackdown on the protests have resulted in the deaths of nearly 500 people, including 62 children.
Iran does not recognize the dual citizenship of Iranian nationals, and Western countries have charged that Tehran takes advantage of the situation by unjustifiably detaining dual and foreign nationals to use as leverage in prisoner swaps.
Since the protests began, the IRGC has repeatedly announced the arrests of members of alleged "networks" who allegedly intended to import weapons into the country and use them in "terrorist operations."
Iranian security forces have taken some 40 foreign nationals into custody, often without revealing any charges.