In a statement, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei described the claims as “baseless”, calling them “an attempt to divert public attention from the most pressing issue of the day, the genocide in occupied Palestine”.

Western governments including the US, Britain, France and Germany condemned in a joint statement yesterday “the growing number of state threats from Iranian intelligence services in our respective territories”.

“We are united in our opposition to the attempts of Iranian intelligence services to kill, kidnap and harass people in Europe and North America in clear violation of our sovereignty,” they said.

“These services are increasingly collaborating with international criminal organisations to target journalists, dissidents, Jewish citizens, and current and former officials in Europe and North America.”

Baqaei said the accusations were “blatant fabrications… designed as part of a malicious Iranophobia campaign aimed at exerting pressure on the great Iranian nation”.