Iran Israel war: Tehran detains German cyclist on spying allegations in Markazi province which has Arak heavy water reactor

Iran today acknowledged for the first time it detained a German cyclist on spying allegations, likely an effort by Tehran to pressure Germany amid its war with Israel. This came even as Germany has temporarily relocated the staff of its embassy in Tehran abroad due to the current threat situation, a foreign ministry official said on Saturday.

The semiofficial Mehr news agency published footage of the unnamed man’s arrest. It did not say when the arrest occurred, however it described the cyclist as being detained in Markazi province, home to Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor, AP reported.

The German news agency dpa reported the arrest took place last year and that the man is being held in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, home to Westerners and political prisoners.


Meanwhile, the German embassy remains operational and can be contacted via phone by Germans who are still in Iran, the official said, adding it would continue to advise on possible options for leaving the country by land, Reuters reported.

Israel's military said Saturday it struck an Iranian nuclear research facility overnight and killed three senior Iranian commanders in targeted attacks, while emphasizing it was preparing for the possibility that the war could turn into a lengthy campaign.

Early on Saturday, smoke could be seen rising from an area near a mountain in Isfahan, where a local official said Israel had attacked the nuclear research facility in two waves.

The target was two centrifuge production sites, and the attacks came on top of strikes on other centrifuge production sites elsewhere in recent days, according to an Israeli military official speaking on condition of anonymity under army guidelines to brief reporters. It was the second attack on Isfahan, which was hit in the first 24 hours of the war as part of Israel's goal to destroy the Iranian nuclear program.

Akbar Salehi, Isfahan province's deputy governor for security affairs, confirmed the Israeli strikes had caused damage to the facility but said there had been no human casualties.

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