Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard forces have accused the British envoy's deputy and other diplomats of "espionage" and obtaining soil samples from restricted military zones.

Wednesday, the country's state-run IRNA news agency announced that the foreigners had been detained but did not specify when. The Foreign Office of the United Kingdom promptly disputed that its envoy had been arrested, describing the news as "completely false."

Iranian state television aired purported footage of foreigners gathering soil samples while under drone monitoring.

The claims come in the wake of growing tensions stemming from Tehran's increased detention of foreigners and quick advancement of its nuclear program, while efforts to restore the historic 2015 nuclear pact remain stalled.

Recently, Iran has jailed several Europeans, including two French citizens and a Swedish tourist, to acquire negotiating power.

Iran recently removed the Revolutionary Guard's longtime intelligence commander in an unprecedented move.

The news sites reported that Giles Whitaker, the deputy head of mission at the British Embassy, and other foreigners were charged with "spying" after visiting several restricted zones in the country while the Guard conducted missile testing.

State television reported that these spies were collecting soil samples in the central Iranian desert, where Revolutionary Guard missile exercises were being performed.

The semi-official Fars news agency, considered sympathetic to the Guard, reported that Whitaker was removed from the area after apologizing to officials.

Espionage charges

The reports emerged while the British public was captivated by the political fortunes of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was under increasing pressure to resign due to Cabinet defections.

State television aired a photo montage showing Whitaker taking soil samples in the southern desert while spooky music played in the background.

Even though there were signs in that area indicating that it was a restricted area, he proceeded to take a sample and photograph it.

"Intelligence agencies say that these people often pose as tourists, but are looking for military and missile sites to identify equipment and ammunition."

Maciej Walczak, a Polish scientist at Copernicus University in Poland, was also identified by Iranian media as one of the accused foreigners. Similarly, it was stated that he obtained soil, water, and salt samples from a restricted region during a missile test in the country's south.

According to the report, the Guard's intelligence branch also detained the spouse of Austria's cultural attaché in Iran after he collected soil samples in the country's northeast.