People Against Gangsterism and Drugs will hold a media briefing in Cape Town today to address allegations about its links to Iran.
In the leaking of top-secret cables from some of the world's major intelligence agencies, various and seemingly unrelated South African organisations were mentioned as facilitating Iranian intelligence activities.
Among them were Pagad and Ahl ul-Bait Foundation of SA - a Shia Islamic religious institute. Both groups strongly deny this.
Yesterday, Al Jazeera reported that Pagad national coordinator Abdus Salaam Ebrahim said the group had never received any support. "It doesn't matter if it's Iran or Iraq or Saudi Arabia. We never got support from anybody," he reportedly said.
The cables, leaked to Al Jazeera include a dossier - Operational Target Analysis - drafted by South Africa's National Intelligence Agency and dated January 2010, aimed at Iranian agents.
According to Al Jazeera, the SA State Security Agency characterised Iranian spies as individuals who are "highly motivated and difficult to recruit".
They appear "courteous", "tolerant" and "persuasive" but apply "counter-surveillance measures constantly".
The Guardian said the documents show Iran approached South Africa's leadership in search of a way around international sanctions imposed by Western powers.
Professor Mike Hough, retired head of the Institute for Strategic Studies at Pretoria University, said yesterday that South Africa's ties with Iran were never secret. Regarding the speculation about Iran funding terror organisations, Hough said a direct link between Iran and Pagad had never been established.
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