Iranian authorities have confirmed the arrest of a German citizen, identified as Marek Kaufman, who has reportedly been detained for over a year on suspicion of espionage. Iran’s state-run Mehr news agency acknowledged the arrest on Saturday, claiming Kaufman is Jewish and entered the country on a tourist visa.

Officials allege Kaufman was apprehended while cycling near sensitive military and nuclear sites in Iran’s central Markazi province—likely near the heavily guarded Arak facility. According to Iranian state media, Kaufman is accused of collecting intelligence on missile sites, drone operations, and air force bases.

The London-based Iran International reported that the arrest was carried out by intelligence operatives of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in an area marked with military warning signs. A five-minute, state-produced video aired by Mehr showed Kaufman acknowledging that he had entered a restricted military zone. In the heavily edited footage, he describes himself as a bicycle tourist and admits he was aware that photography and filming were prohibited in the area.

“It was definitely this, but in my memory it looked different than this,” Kaufman says in the video. “I thought that it was some military place… I only knew that it is forbidden to take videos and pictures or give information about it away.”

The footage appears to have been filmed shortly after his arrest. Kaufman is seen wearing plain clothes, near a bicycle and a one-person tent. The video was accompanied by ominous music and included unrelated images of Israeli Mossad equipment, although none of that footage was directly tied to Kaufman.

Drone footage shown in the same video purports to show Iranian counterintelligence tracking Kaufman, while another clip features him vlogging and narrating his route—common behavior among travel content creators.

A female presenter in the video claims, without evidence, that Kaufman was receiving directions from “American and Jewish commanders.” Iran International noted that the same presenter has been previously sanctioned by international bodies for broadcasting coerced confessions.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)