Iran has arrested seven people linked to US-funded ‘Radio Farda’ and has accused two of them of working as spies for the CIA. The Iranian news agency IRNA reports that the seven are accused of provoking protesters during the violent anti-government protests in December last year. The arrested “had a major role in collecting information, transferring it abroad and provoking protesters. They aimed to fuel more protests on 11 February [the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution] before leaving the country for the US,” a government statement reportedly said. The protesters were not identified.

The semi-official ILNA news agency said the seven had ties “with counter-revolutionary satellite networks and Zionist media and agents of sedition."

‘Radio Farda’ is a Farsi-language broadcast service based in Prague, Czech Republic, and funded by the US government. It is affiliated with ‘Radio Free Europe’. Iran is gearing up to mark the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution next Thursday.