Going undercover in heart of Iran regime

Like the plot of the latest Middle East spy thriller on Netflix, a French journalist went undercover in Iran. She reveals how she heard about the regime's plan to annihilate Israel - and why UK group Palestine Action had to be shut down...

- By Marco Giannangeli

ATHERINE PerezShakdam is not easily rattled. The Jewish granddaughter of a French resistance hero, she played a key role in the recent decision to ban Palestine Action under the UK Terrorism Act through the advocacy group We Believe in Israel, where she is a director.

"From where I sit, Palestine Action had to be shut down," she says.

"It was necessary to reaffirm our commitment to the rule of law and ensure terror apologists are held to account. Their actions crossed a line from activism into incitement and disruption."

But her story is far more gripping than her current role suggests.

Eight years ago Catherine lived a double life few could fathom.

Posing as a devout Muslim, she gained access to the heart of Iran's theocratic regime, meeting with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Iran's most senior religious, political and military hierarchy, including President Raisi and, most chillingly, General Qasem Soleimani, head of the IRGC's Quds regiment before he was assassinated.

It was in a forum called the Palestine Conference in Tehran in 2017 that she first learned of a plan to annihilate the Jewish people. "The rhetoric was violent. It was appalling. I was sitting less than 10 metres away from (Hamas leader) Khaled Mashal and he was screaming 'death to America!' and 'death to Jews!', and I'm thinking, 'Well, I'm right here."

The meeting took a more sinister turn when a new plan was unveiled.

"They were announcing that in five years Israel was going to be annihilated. I didn't know what it was but they said something horrible would happen. I thought they were boasting. When October 7 happened, I realised they had literally put a clock on Israel."