Belgian arms dealer held in Iran

European diplomats feared the arrest would spoil better relations

By Jim Muir in Tehran

It has been reported in the Iranian capital, Tehran, that a Belgian citizen arrested on spying charges is a well known international arms dealer.

A terse announcement by the Tehran Justice Department in November that a Belgian had been arrested on spying charges caused alarm in European diplomatic circles.

There were fears of yet another major crisis upsetting relations between Iran and Europe just when things seemed to be getting better.

The initial announcement gave no details about the man arrested, not even his name.

There has been no consular access granted to Belgian diplomats here and no further official information at all beyond reports that the detainee also held an Ivory Coast passport.

But informed sources have now confirmed press reports circulating in France and Belgium that the arrested man is a well known Belgian arms dealer, Jacques Monsieur.

Passport confusion

At the time of his disappearance from his home in France he was being investigated by Belgian and French police for illegal arms deals.

His Belgian passport had been seized so he was travelling on the Ivory Coast one, causing further confusion.

Mr Monsieur was apparently no stranger to Iran - he is reported to have played a big role in exporting Iranian arms to Bosnia in the early 1990s as well as to other countries in Africa and elsewhere.

If so he must have had good Iranian connections, but something clearly went wrong for him - although some reports say he may have been released into house arrest.

Given the nature of the case the Belgian embassy will now be able to treat it as a purely consular matter so it seems highly unlikely that it will develop into a diplomatic crisis.