Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Monday, Aug 11, 2025

Poland confirms scientist being detained in Iran

Poland confirms scientist being detained in Iran

A Polish scientist is being held in Iran, Poland has confirmed, after Iranian state TV reported that several Europeans had been caught spying.

Poland's foreign ministry said the man was detained in September. A Polish university named him as Maciej Walczak.

Iranian news agencies said Mr Walczak was arrested for taking soil samples in a restricted area, along with British deputy ambassador Giles Whitaker and the husband of an Austrian diplomat.

The UK and Austria denied the reports.

Iranian authorities have detained a number of European nationals on spying charges in the past year, amid escalating tensions with the West over stalled efforts to revive a 2015 nuclear deal.

Iranian media said the Europeans were filmed taking soil samples during IRGC missile exercises


Iranian state TV reported on Wednesday that the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence Organisation had identified several foreign nationals carrying out "espionage in forbidden zones".

It said Mr Walczak - head of the environmental microbiology and biotechnology department of Poland's Nicolaus Copernicus University - and three Polish colleagues had travelled to a prohibited military zone near the south-eastern city of Shahdad, in the Lut Desert, while an IRGC air defence missile exercise took place nearby.

"The pictures published by IRGC intelligence show that [Walczak] took samples of soil, salt, rocks, clay and water," it alleged.

The Polish foreign ministry issued a statement on Thursday confirming that a "highly reputed scientist" was taken into custody in Iran in September, but it provided no further details about his case.

"Consular and diplomatic steps have been taken to make it possible for him to return to Poland as soon as possible," it added.

A Copernicus University spokesperson confirmed to BBC Persian that Mr Walczak had been arrested along with two other Polish citizens in September. The other two had been released and had returned to Poland, they said.

Iranian state TV also broadcast footage it said showed that Mr Whitaker had taken soil samples and taken photos in the Shahdad area at the same time as the IRGC missile defence exercise. The British deputy ambassador was "expelled from the city after apologising", it added.

The report did not say whether Mr Whitaker was detained at any point, but state news agency Irna reported that he was "arrested on espionage charges". Again, no date was mentioned.

A spokesperson for the UK Foreign Office spokesperson told the BBC that the "reports of the arrest of a British diplomat in Iran are completely false".

"These reports that our deputy ambassador is currently detained are very interesting," tweeted Simon Shercliff, the British ambassador to Iran. "He actually left Iran last December, at the end of his posting."

The Iranian state TV report said the Austrian cultural attaché's husband was filmed collecting soil samples in the north-eastern Damghan area. It added that he had previously been caught taking photos in a military area of Tehran.

The Austrian foreign ministry said: "All of our staff and their relatives in Tehran are fine. No-one has been detained or arrested."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Germany Seeks Taliban Deal to Deport Afghan Migrants
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Qatar Airways Clears Backlog of Passengers Following Missile Threats
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
×