Switzerland warns of growing threat from Islamic Republic; re-examination of deaths of Swiss diplomats in Iran

 

#Switzerland #warns of growing threat from #Islamic_Republic; re-examination of deaths of Swiss #diplomats in #Iran

Swiss intelligence agencies have warned that the Islamic Republic’s espionage activities pose a growing threat to Swiss diplomats in Tehran. The warning comes after a re-examination of the mysterious deaths of Swiss embassy staff and a Swiss tourist in Iran.

The Swiss Federal Intelligence Service has listed the governments of the Islamic Republic, Russia, China and North Korea as countries that have stepped up their intelligence activities against Switzerland.

The agency said Switzerland’s role as a protector of US interests in Iran “increases the vulnerability of Swiss personnel” to hostile actions.

The warning follows investigations by two Swiss media outlets into four suspicious deaths linked to the country in Iran. These included:

Swiss diplomat Sylvie Brunner falls to her death from balcony in Tehran

Silvie Brunner, a diplomat, fell from the 17th floor of her apartment in Tehran in May 2013. Iranian authorities declared her death a suicide, citing “mental health problems.”

However, according to Swiss media investigations, a man who identified himself as a former officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed that the diplomat was thrown from the balcony after a failed surveillance operation.

Sudden illness of a Swiss military attaché in Tehran

In 2013, a Swiss military attaché was transferred to Switzerland in a coma after falling suddenly ill in Tehran and died in hospital. Experts suspect that he may have been identified and poisoned by Islamic Republic agents while working in Iran.

Local Swiss Embassy Employee Attacked with Knife and Firearm

In another incident near the embassy, ​​a local employee was attacked with both a knife and a firearm while on his way to work. Swiss analysts reject Tehran police’s claim that the motive for the attack was robbery.

Swiss Tourist Allegedly Commits Suicide in Prison

In a fourth case, a Swiss tourist in his sixties was arrested in the fall of 1403 on charges of espionage after the Islamic Republic claimed he had photographed a military site and collected soil samples. Islamic Republic authorities later announced that he had committed suicide in Semnan prison. During his detention, Swiss authorities were denied access.

Swiss authorities are now reportedly considering the cases to be linked.

The Swiss Foreign Ministry announced in a statement on Friday, January 11, a copy of which was sent to the Persian service of the VOA, that Iranian authorities had informed the country’s embassy in Tehran on December 10 that a 64-year-old Swiss man had been arrested on suspicion of “espionage.”

According to the Swiss Foreign Ministry statement, the citizen, who had not resided in Switzerland for the past 20 years and had been living in South Africa, had traveled to Iran as a tourist.

On Wednesday, July 1, in response to a question from the VOA about reports that some American citizens were being detained while leaving Iran, Tammy Bruce, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, confirmed the reports but again warned against traveling to Iran.

The VOA Persian service asked Ms. Bruce: “Do you confirm the reports of American citizens being detained while leaving Iran?” The U.S. State Department spokesperson replied: “Yes, I confirm and I’m glad you asked, because we had been receiving these reports from the very beginning.”

He added that Washington could not comment on the specifics of these cases separately, but he said: “We have long warned American citizens not to travel to Iran, especially in the current circumstances. The risk of unjust detention and imprisonment by the regime of those associated with the United States in Iran, including dual Iranian-American citizens, is very serious.”

Stressing the growing risks for Americans in Iran, Tammy Bruce said: “If you are not in Iran, do not go there. If you are currently in Iran, please review our latest security warnings and consider a safe exit.”

She warned that such trips could have serious consequences, adding: “We understand that Iranian-Americans in the United States may be thinking about traveling to Iran for any reason, and this is a feeling that anyone might have: to visit family and loved ones. But don’t go! Don’t do it! You can’t help your loved ones from prison.”

Confirmed the detention of some American citizens while leaving Iran

The US State Department has repeatedly issued warnings about travel to Iran, saying the Islamic Republic has a long history of “arbitrary detention” of dual nationals, including American citizens.

Background to the Murder of Swiss Nationals and Personalities in Iran

New Investigations into the Suspicious Deaths of Swiss Citizens in Iran

In recent years, several Swiss citizens in Iran have died mysteriously. Now, an investigative report by Swiss Radio and Television (SRF) suggests that these individuals may have been murdered in suspicious circumstances.

Tehran; May 2021: Sylvie Brunner, a senior diplomat at the Swiss embassy, ​​falls from the 17th floor of a tower and dies. About an hour and a half before her death, she sends a message to her friend with the phrase Good Buy.

The obvious misspelling in the message, which actually meant Goodbye, seems strange for a high-ranking diplomat who had lived in the United States for many years. In addition, a farewell letter from her was also found, an undated and unsigned letter. At the time, Iranian authorities quickly dismissed the incident as a “suicide.”

But new research by Swiss Radio and Television (SRF) has cast doubt on this account and explicitly points to the possibility of murder.

Switzerland acts as a protector of US interests in Tehran, and recent revelations by Swiss Radio and Television suggest that this sensitive role may be the reason for Brunner’s death and other mysterious deaths of Swiss citizens in Iran.

An Iranian rescue worker said after finding the body of the senior diplomat: “Suicide is ruled out.” The rescue worker was later fired and even prosecuted.

The Swiss Attorney General’s Office subsequently opened an investigation into the possibility of murder, but the case was closed in November 2024 due to a lack of evidence of third-party involvement in the death.

Switzerland opens case over ‘unusual death’ of citizen in Iran

However, Sylvie Brunner’s brother says in an SRF investigative report that he has always considered the possibility that Sylvie’s death was in fact a murder. According to him, the diplomat had spoken of threats from the Islamic Republic’s Ministry of Intelligence.

“He knew he was being targeted by the Islamic Republic’s intelligence service,” Brunner’s brother says.

According to the report, an autopsy on Brunner’s body showed that he had suffered “multiple injuries caused by hard impact.” The mysterious and suspicious point was that after the body was transferred to Switzerland, it was discovered that organs such as the heart and brain were missing from the body, which made the investigation difficult.

Attack on Swiss military attaché and other murders

SRF investigations have also looked into other suspicious events in Iran:

In June 2023, the Swiss military attaché, Colonel Girolamo M., was found seriously injured in his hotel room in Tehran. He had suffered injuries to the head, knee, chest and abdomen and died shortly afterwards.

In September 2023, an employee of the Swiss embassy in Tehran was attacked with a knife in what was officially described as a robbery – a rare occurrence in Iran.

In early 2025, a Swiss tourist died in prison in Semnan. The cause of his death was apparently suicide, with the Iranian government saying he had committed suicide after being arrested on suspicion of espionage.

The Berliner Zeitung had previously reported that the Swiss prisoner had collected soil samples related to Iran’s nuclear program.

Switzerland has legally represented US interests in Iran since 1980. This has made the work of Swiss diplomats difficult and dangerous.

Read more: Switzerland: Iran explains death of Swiss citizen in prison

“Our role for the US makes us visible,” Monika Schmuts-Kreggs of the Swiss Foreign Ministry told SRF, although she denied any direct connection to the deaths.

“In our department, it was assumed that the diplomat’s death was the work of the Revolutionary Guards,” a former member of the Islamic Republic’s intelligence ministry said of the investigation.

The news website Watson quoted him as saying that the Revolutionary Guards considered the Swiss embassy “a point of influence for the Americans” because they believed that embassy staff worked for the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Read more: Switzerland confirms citizen's 'death' in Semnan prison

Regarding another death, that of a Swiss tourist in Semnan, Schmuts-Kreggs said: "The Iranians didn't tell us anything about it."

According to Watson, Switzerland was also denied access to the investigation into the Brunner case, partly because the Swiss police are not allowed to operate in Iran.

The brother of the deceased Swiss diplomat says in an SRF report: "I may have to live with this uncertainty for the rest of my life.