A telecoms company with suspected ties to a key arm of the Iranian regime asked Irish diplomats for help setting up business deals in the Republic with Eir, Vodafone and Three, internal correspondence shows.
The Iranian company linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) requested the help of the State’s Embassy in Tehran at the start of this year to line up mobile roaming agreements with several Irish networks.
In a January 6th letter, seen by The Irish Times, the Mobile Company of Iran (MCI) said it wanted to expand its roaming coverage to Ireland, “considering the friendly relations” between the two countries.
The Mobile Company of Iran is one of the largest telecoms firms in the country and is owned by a company believed to be under the control of the IRGC.
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The revolutionary guard is a military force, but also controls sections of many important economic industries in Iran. It oversees covert operations and plays a central role in aiding Middle East proxy militias, such as Hamas and Hizbullah.
“We would like to express our gratitude for the consistent efforts of the Embassy of Ireland in strengthening bilateral relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Ireland,” the letter from MCI to the Irish Embassy said.
The Iranian company claimed it had international roaming deals in place with nearly 200 operators across 110 countries, where local providers extend mobile phone coverage to customers travelling from foreign countries.
“We kindly request the esteemed Embassy of Ireland to facilitate and support the establishment of international roaming agreements with active operators in Ireland (Three, Vodafone, and Eir),” the letter said.
The Republic’s ambassador to Iran, Laoise Moore, did not respond to the letter, a copy of which was released to The Irish Times following a Freedom of Information Act request.
Vodafone previously had a roaming deal with MCI, but cut ties in the last year. The UK telecoms giant feared the agreement might breach rules prohibiting companies from doing business with the Iranian regime.
Three Ireland did not respond to queries about whether it was involved in any discussions to sign a roaming deal with the Iranian company.
An Eir spokeswoman said its roaming agreements were “established in full compliance with existing international legal frameworks”. The company “reviews publicly available sanctions lists prior to finalising any agreements”, she said. Eir did not respond to specific questions about MCI.
An internal assessment by the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, previously said there was reason to believe MCI was “indirectly owned or controlled” by an entity that had been sanctioned by the bloc. The main shareholder of MCI is connected to an entity put on an EU sanctions blacklist in 2010, due to links to the IRGC.
A Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman said the IRGC was subject to economic sanctions, but the Mobile Company of Iran itself was not.
Irish staff working in the Tehran Embassy were evacuated when fighting between Israel and Iran intensified, in the 12-day war that ended at the start of last week.
The Embassy in Iran had only reopened last year, after having been closed in 2012 as part of a cost-cutting effort following the financial crash.
The letter from MCI to Ms Moore was addressed to “His excellency, ambassador of Ireland in the Islamic Republic of Iran”.
