Daniel Abed Khalife, a former British Army soldier “accused of terrorism” and “intelligence ties with Iran,” denied the charges against him in court on Wednesday, October 30.
The former British soldier is accused of sending sensitive information to individuals linked to the IRGC and of planting fake bombs in a military barracks.
Daniel Abed Khalife allegedly collected sensitive information between May 2019 and January 2022, prosecutor Mark Heywood told jurors at the start of the trial at London’s Woolwich Crown Court.
The 23-year-old former soldier escaped from prison for a week in September 2023 but was recaptured.
Daniel Abed Khalife, who was discharged from the British Army in May 2023 following the revelation of his links to the IRGC, also allegedly attempted to plant “fake bombs” at a British military base.
British prosecutors say he received $1,500 from IRGC-linked individuals and, a week later, sent an email to the MI6 foreign intelligence service expressing a desire to work as a double agent.
Reuters reports that his lawyer, Gul Nawaz Hussain, asked him in court whether he or his family supports the Iranian government.
Khalife, whose mother was born in Iran, replied not having ever met anyone living outside of Iran who doesn’t have hostility toward the Iranian regime. He said his mother despises the Tehran regime and that he and his family are against the Iranian regime.
Khalife also commented on his visit to Iran, saying that he hated it and thought it was a horrible place.
He described his plan as one of spreading false information to advance British national security interests, adding that He knows this scheme may seem a bit strange.
