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Vinay Ranchhod / RNZ
RNZ has reported that embassy raids occurred in the 1980s and 1990s.
This story was originally published on RNZ.co.nz and republished with permission.
Iran is threatening to take legal action against New Zealand after learning that the Security Intelligence Service (SIS), in a joint operation with the CIA, broke into its Wellington embassy to plant errors in the late 1980s and early 1980s. of the 1990.
India also responded to a SIS operation that occurred around the same time, demanding that the New Zealand Foreign Ministry investigate a SIS theft where codebooks were photographed and passed on to Britain’s MI6.
The protests from Iran and India have been revealed in an epilogue episode of the RNZ podcast series. The service, which tracks the role of the SIS in the Cold War.
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Ross Giblin / Stuff
SIS Minister Andrew Little declines to say whether the SIS is still breaking into foreign embassies.
The podcast focuses on a 1986 raid on the Czechoslovak embassy, a joint mission by SIS and MI6 to steal the Warsaw Pact codes used to encrypt communications from communist Eastern bloc countries.
But, following the podcast, RNZ discovered that New Zealand’s spy agency had carried out a series of embassy raids that continued until at least the 1990s.
The SIS raided the Iranian embassy in Wellington in a mission called Operation Horoscope, which was promoted by the CIA.
The SIS entered the CIA embassy, photographed the building and installed listening devices provided by the CIA.
The CIA tampered with the circuit boards of a telex machine used by the Iranian embassy, allowing the CIA to intercept communications.
The Iranian embassy in Wellington said it was investigating the raid as a violation of the international treaty of the Vienna Convention, which states that “mission facilities shall be inviolable.”
In a written response to RNZ, Iran said: “In the event such a violation is proven, the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, with due respect to the 50-year bilateral relationship with the government of New Zealand, reserves the right to take any legal action “.
The statement said that “the evidence and indications of the alleged action are being investigated” and “if any confirmed evidence is obtained, the necessary legal actions will be taken.”
The statement also said that the countries have had “brilliant relationships” for nearly 50 years and that such a violation would not seem rational. He also claimed that “given (New Zealand’s) political independence”, the idea that the operation was driven by the CIA seems “unrealistic.”
India’s High Commission told RNZ that it had also taken action on the SIS raid on its embassy. “I can confirm that the matter has been discussed with the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, asking them to investigate the matter.”
The covert attack on the Indian High Commission was dubbed Operation Dunnage and was a joint mission between SIS and Britain’s external spy agency MI6. Thousands of photographs containing codes were sent to the UK to allow British foreign intelligence officials to decipher the communications of Indian government officials and diplomats.
Former Prime Ministers Jim Bolger and Sir Geoffrey Palmer have said they did not recall signing the embassy raids.
The Foreign Ministry told RNZ that it will not speak at all about the embassy raids. “MFAT has no comment to make on these matters. New Zealand maintains constructive and positive relations with Iran and India, including their Wellington-based representatives.”
The SIS has not denied the facts, but said it was “unable to answer questions about what specific operational issues may or may not be.”
Both Helen Clark, prime minister between 1999-2008, and current SIS minister Andrew Little have declined to say whether the SIS still breaks into foreign embassies.
This story was originally published on RNZ.co.nz and republished with permission.
