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Iran arrests activist, filmmakers on security charges

Iran arrests activist, filmmakers on security charges
posted onJuly 9, 2022
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Iranian authorities have arrested a reformist activist and two filmmakers on charges of acting against national security, local media said on Friday.

Mostafa Tajzadeh, a former reformist deputy interior minister turned activist, was detained on charges of "acting against national security and spreading lies to disturb public opinion", the semi-official news agency Mehr reported.

Tajzadeh has said Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei should be held responsible if efforts to revive the nuclear deal fail.

Indirect US-Iran talks to resurrect a 2015 nuclear accord and lift sanctions have stalled after Iran has reportedly increased its demands.

It was unclear if Tajzadeh's arrest was linked to the tweet.

Separately, dissident director Mohammad Rasoulof and a colleague, Mostafa Aleahmad, were detained on Friday, state news agency IRNA reported, accusing them of having ties to anti-government groups and committing security offences.

The two were among a group of actors and filmmakers who had signed an appeal that called on security forces to "lay down your weapons and return to the nation's embrace" during street protests that followed a deadly building collapse in May which officials blamed on corruption and lax safety.