Iran arrests opposition figure ‘directed by French intel’

Iran has arrested an opposition figure allegedly "directed by France’s intelligence service” and is holding him in custody in the Islamic republic, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Monday.

Ruhollah Zam, who allegedly ran "counter-revolutionary” Telegram channel Amadnews, has been detained in a "sophisticated and professional operation” by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) intelligence organization, the IRGC said in a statement.

"Despite being under the guidance of the French intelligence service and under the protection of the US and Zionist (Israeli) intelligence services ... he (Zam) was trapped by the Revolutionary Guards intelligence service,” the statement said.

The statement did not say when or where he was arrested.

Amadnews was suspended by the messaging app Telegram last year after Iran accused it of carrying calls for violence during street protests in the country. But the channel soon re-appeared under a new name.