Turkey has arrested an Iranian diplomat in connection with the assassination in Istanbul of a former regime intelligence officer who turned against Tehran.
Muhammad Reza Naserzadeh, 43, a civil registry clerk at the Iranian consulate in Istanbul, is accused of forging documents to allow the man who allegedly planned the killing in November 2019 to escape Turkey and return to Iran.
Turkish state media reported that Naserzadeh was arrested this week after another suspect in the case gave evidence to prosecutors. The Iranian Foreign Ministry denied that any of its diplomats had been arrested, saying the accusations were “completely baseless”.
According to the Turkish reports Naserzadeh is accused of aiding the escape of Ali Esfanjani after the death of Masoud Molavi Vardanjani, 33, a spy
