A new investigation and testimony cited by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty describe how Iran allegedly sought for years to expand its influence in Georgia and recruit sympathizers for the Islamic Republic.
The man, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said his experience was not unique and that he knows many other Georgian youths who received similar offers over the years. He said the approach took place roughly 15 years ago during a pilgrimage trip to the Iranian holy city of Mashhad organized by Sheikh Faig Nabiyev, head of Georgia’s Muslim administration.
The man, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he had traveled with a group of believers when individuals approached him at the hotel where the pilgrims were staying.
“There were three men there, well dressed in jackets and shirts. They gave the impression of high-ranking people,” he said.
The men told the athlete they had extensive information about him, including details about his influence and personal problems. They allegedly offered financial assistance to open a sports gym in Marneuli if he agreed to cooperate.
“They told me: We are ready to solve your problems and give you money to open a gym in Marneuli if you are ready to die for Khamenei,” he recalled. The conversation took place through an interpreter, with the Georgian speaking Azerbaijani and the others Persian.
When he asked how they had obtained information about him and what exactly they wanted him to do, the men did not provide details. Instead, they said they could arrange travel to Turkey or a European country, where another contact would provide instructions.
Religious networks and institutions
The man believes Muslim religious figures in Georgia may have recommended him. He also mentioned his indirect involvement in the Imam Ali charitable foundation, one of two organizations with that name registered in Georgia’s business registry.
The earlier foundation was registered in 2013 in Marneuli, while another organization with the same name was registered in 2024 with different founders. The newer foundation has recently been more active publicly.
For example, it helped organize a Tasua religious procession in Marneuli in August 2025, where Palestinian flags were displayed and participants carried posters depicting the presidents of Israel and the United States with blood on their hands. The group also supported a pro-Iran and pro-Hamas rally in Marneuli in late October.
The foundation later publicized a memorial gathering for Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei held on 3 March 2026 at the Imam Ali Mosque in Marneuli.
Khamenei was among the first targets killed during joint U.S.–Israeli airstrikes on Iran, along with around 50 members of Iran’s military and political elite in the early days of the military operation.
Photographs from the Marneuli event show a large crowd and a central portrait of Khamenei. The cleric leading prayers at the memorial was Rakhid Kerimov, a teacher at the Georgian branches of Al-Mustafa International University, an institution sanctioned by the United States and Canada over extremism concerns. Kerimov himself received his education in Iran.
Support statements by clerics
In January, after Iranian authorities violently suppressed mass protests in Iran, 18 Georgian Shiite clerics published a statement supporting the Islamic Republic’s leadership.
“We, Georgian clerics, consider standing by the Supreme Religious Leader not only a political but also a religious, moral, and conscientious duty,” the statement said.
In February, the Imam Ali Mosque in Marneuli also published a statement accusing the United States and its Western allies of carrying out the largest terrorist acts in the region and blaming them, along with Israel, for bloodshed in Syria, Iraq, Gaza, Afghanistan, and Yemen. Protesters in Iran were described as rebels against the Islamic order.
No statements of solidarity were issued by these clerics for the thousands of demonstrators killed during the Iranian protests.
After Khamenei’s death was confirmed on 3 March, Georgia’s Supreme Religious Administration of Muslims issued condolences, describing him as “one of the greatest figures and leaders of all time.”
The statement also said that “the enemies of humanity, killers of children and imperialist forces who commit such acts must answer before international law.”
Institutional ties with Iran
Observers note that links between Iran and Georgia have also developed through religious and educational institutions.
One key actor is Georgia’s State Agency for Religious Affairs, which operates under the prime minister. Agency officials and representatives of the Muslim administration have regularly held meetings with Iranian religious institutions and cultural organizations.
One such figure is Alireza Arafi, a member of Iran’s powerful Guardian Council and former rector of Al-Mustafa International University. Arafi is also part of the three-member interim leadership council currently governing Iran after Khamenei’s death, alongside President Masoud Pezeshkian and judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei.
Arafi led Al-Mustafa University from 2008 to 2018. The institution, based in the Shiite holy city of Qom, operates more than 60 branches worldwide, including in Tbilisi, Marneuli, and Gardabani in Georgia, despite lacking accreditation from Georgia’s Ministry of Education.
The university is widely viewed by Western governments as a tool of Iran’s intelligence outreach. It has been sanctioned by the United States and Canada for extremism and links with terrorism.
In May 2018, Arafi hosted a Georgian delegation in Iran led by Zaza Vashakmadze, head of the State Agency for Religious Affairs. According to reports from the meeting, the Georgian official discussed the demographic characteristics of Georgia’s Muslim community and state policies toward it.
During the visit, the Georgian delegation also met Muslim students from Georgia studying in Iranian religious institutions.
Another Iranian organization active in Georgia is the Ahl al-Bayt cultural and educational center, registered in 2014 and led locally by Sheikh Faig Nabiyev. The organization presents itself as a charitable and educational group but is also widely regarded as part of Iran’s soft-power network.
In 2015, the organization hosted a delegation of Iranian clerics and parliamentarians that included Masoud Pezeshkian, who is now Iran’s president.
Georgian citizens of Azerbaijani descent spying on US naval assets in Greece for Iran
Concerns about Iranian influence have intensified following a 2 March arrest in Greece, where authorities detained a 36-year-old Georgian citizen of ethnic Azerbaijani origin suspected of spying for Iran.
Greek investigators say the man was gathering information about the Souda Bay NATO naval base on the island of Crete, one of the most important military installations in the Mediterranean for both Greece and the United States.
The base had recently hosted the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest U.S. aircraft carrier, which stopped there for resupply before potential operations related to tensions with Iran.
Greek media reported that the suspect had arrived from Germany and claimed in court that he worked as a truck driver. He has already been convicted of illegal border crossing, carrying a two-year prison sentence and a fine, while the espionage charges will be addressed in further court proceedings.
It is not the first such case. In April 2025, Greek authorities arrested a 59-year-old Greek citizen born in Georgia on suspicion of spying for Russian intelligence near the strategic port of Alexandroupoli, another key logistics hub for U.S. and NATO military operations. Investigators said he transmitted information to another Georgian citizen based in Lithuania, who was also arrested.
Another 67-year-old dual citizen of Georgia and Poland was detained the same year for filming a military base near the city of Serres.
Georgian security officials maintain that the state is monitoring such risks. The State Security Service told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that authorities “fully control the situation and process the available information according to established protocols.”
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