Hundreds of under-cover Iranian spies in Dubai

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Ever-since the United Arab Emirates normalized relations with Israel, Iranian intelligence establishment has intensified its efforts of fresh recruitment of under-cover spies, while hundreds of Iranians are entering Abu Dhabi and Dubai under various disguise. Recently, email correspondence between Iranian females in UAE and some individuals were intercepted by intelligence agencies, where it was found, a large number of them are illegally working in Dubai under the disguise of domestic help and sex workers. It may be mentioned here that, while poverty-stricken Iranian women are desperately looking for any sort of job in Dubai and other countries in the world, a large segment of these females are recruited and sent under special assignment by the Iranian regime. According to intelligence sources, Iranian intelligence and its notorious IRGC are also operating human-trafficking network, which is assigned with sending Iranian male and female to various countries.

Iranians in Dubai’s sex market

“There are a few places in the Fish Market where you can find Iranian girls. Of course, they are considered low class,” says an Iranian merchant, whom they will call Mohammad. “Al Raqa is better. Around the Jumeirah coast you can find Iranian girls as well”. 

Mohammad has lived in Dubai for nearly a year and regularly travels between Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). “I’ve been to these areas a few times. There are many shared houses in Al Raqa. Each house is partitioned and each partition has a bed. Usually there is a man who manages the house. The custom is that the girls go to the clubs and after an agreement is reached, they take the client to one of those apartments.”

Mohammad, who admits to having had sex with prostitutes in Dubai a few times, reports that the cost of one visit is about 400 dirhams, or a little over $100, and if the client has no place of his own, he must pay an extra 200 dirhams for the room. He has come across Iranian women many times. “They usually don’t want anyone to know that they are Iranian because many Iranian clients cheat them or don’t pay the amount the they have agreed on. So most speak English”.

Head of the Iranian Immigration and Passport Agency, smartly tries to cover the real identity of these Iranian females by terming them as “victims of human trafficking to Arab countries”. 

Erfan and Parisa [not their real names] have lived in Dubai for eight years. Erfan has researched the subject of Iranian sex workers in Dubai for a number of years and believes that human trafficking and prostitution can happen in any country; it is not an issue specific to life in Dubai. According to his wife Parisa, Emiratis are very well-off and have “no need” to engage in human trafficking. However, she says, she knows of women who come to Dubai legally under the pretext of taking “professional courses” such as hairdressing, and then engage in prostitution, returning to Iran after they have saved some money.

Erfan says Emiratis do not go to nightclubs; on the whole, clients of the few nightclubs that exist in UAE are tourists or expatriates. According to Mohammad, people wearing dishdasha, the traditional robe worn by Arab men in the Persian Gulf, are not permitted in nightclubs.

On the other hand, Ilia Jazayeri, an Iranian reporter who has traveled in Arab countries for many years, supports the claim that Iranian women are trafficked to Dubai. “There is a passage in the city of Qom, near Tehran, called Gold, which was once a booming center for shopping,” she said.

“There was a dress shop in that passage that was run by a person nicknamed ‘Haji,’” an honorific title for respectable people or for those who have successfully completed their pilgrimage to Mecca. “He was one of those who warned young people about improper dress or hairdos. He also closed his shop on time in order to attend the mosque for prayers”.

“Then one day”, Ilia continues, “the police surrounded the passage and arrested Haji and his associates. Later it came to light that it was not a dress shop at all but the headquarters of a criminal band who smuggled women into Dubai”. It was also revealed – Haji was actually a Jordanian national, with previous connections with mega-terror outfit Hamas.

Jazayeri believes that in recent years that women who travel to work as a prostitute have changed their destination. After travelling to Dubai for a number of years, they are now going to Lebanon and other countries, where demand for Iranian sex worker is higher.

According to information, number of Iranian women and sex workers in Dubai has been increasingly steadily. Also, Iranian female enter Dubai under disguise of nurse, domestic help, cook, tutors, etcetera. This particular group of nurses, domestic help, cook, tutors, beautician etc., are the prime recruits of the Iranian intelligence, as they can get access to key information targets.

Iranian female spies landing into various countries

According to intelligence sources, since 2014, Malaysia has become a new destination for Iranian sex workers and female immigrants. But their ultimate destination is not Malaysia. Instead, many of them arrive in Malaysia and Indonesia and use it as route to Australia and some other western nations. Organized human trafficking rackets transfer these females to Australia in exchange for and amount ranging between US$ 5,000-8,000.

In 2009, Malaysia was removed from the US State Department’s list of the most dangerous countries when it came to human trafficking. There is a real concern that it might make a return to the list. In the past few years, Malaysia has not done much to combat human trafficking.

Dubai authorities should monitor Iranians

With the information of alarming rise in the activities of Iranian spies in UAE, particularly Dubai, authorities concerned should bring those Iranian nationals under the radar of intelligence agencies. It is also suggested that houses and business establishments of Iranian nationals, including vehicles used by them should also come under stricter surveillance, as those places may be used for stocking and making of explosives or for any other forms of subversive activities.

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