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Experts and commentators have been reportedly summoned by the State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) after the agency launched a probe over the “contents” and “motives” of allegations about the Iranian recruitment networks in the country.
The probe follows several independent reports suggesting the growing influence of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Georgia, including allegations of recruitment and networks through religious and educational institutions. It also comes amid widening conflict around Iran, and following reports early in March that Greek authorities arrested a Georgian national on suspicion of espionage at the Souda Naval Base in Crete, a critical NATO and U.S. facility in the Eastern Mediterranean, with investigators examining links with Iranian intelligence.
On March 6, RFE/RL’s Georgian Service said the SSSG told the outlet about the probe after the outlet asked the agency about recent allegations of Georgian nationals spying for Iran, and whether Georgian security services are watching or have detected any attempts of Iran “recruiting” personnel in Georgia.
According to RFE/RL, the agency responded by saying it has the situation “under full control,” but called on the outlet to “refrain from amplifying such issues in the current period” as it was “counterproductive” for Georgian national security interests.
RFE/RL further cited SSSG as telling the outlet that the agency is studying what it called the contents of “counterfactual allegations” made in recent days by different individuals “about the recruitment of personnel in Georgia by other countries for the mentioned or implied purposes,” as well as “the motivation of their authors in accusing Georgia of such issues.”
The agency reportedly also told RFE/RL that an investigation has been launched and the “authors of the statements will be asked questions in every direction” and they will be given an opportunity “to name any concrete fact at least within the investigation.”
On March 7, SSSG also told Interpressnews, another Georgian outlet, that the agency was studying both the “contents” and “motives” of allegations spread “regarding the recruitment of personnel in Georgia by other countries, including allegations or insinuations related to terrorism.”
Experts, Commentators Summoned
Reports spread later on March 7 that SSSG summoned for questioning several experts and commentators, including those who have authored articles and studies regarding Iran’s influence in Georgia.
Among those summoned are reportedly Tina Khidasheli, ex-defense minister and head of Civic Idea think tank; Giorgi Kandelaki, a project manager in Soviet Past Research Laboratory; and Gubaz Sanikidze, a historian and opposition figure.
Khidasheli’s Civic Idea has recently published a study suggesting a growing share of Iranian oil product imports on the Georgian market. Also, Khidasheli made comments on the opposition-leaning TV Pirveli channel on March 4, claiming that a “university” is “practically illegally” operating in one of Georgia’s minority-settled regions, which she said in fact is a “terrorist school” where “they train fighters with the spirit: Death to America, Death to Israel.”
Also, on March 3, Hudson Institute published an article co-authored by Giorgi Kandelaki and Luke Coffey, the Institute’s Senior Fellow, titled “Georgia’s Iranian Turn: Tehran’s Rapid Expansion of Influence in a Once-Committed US Ally.”
The study also mentions “religious and educational institutions, such as branches of the Ahl al-Bayt World Assembly and the US-sanctioned Al-Mustafa International University,” which “operate openly in Georgia and promote Tehran-aligned religious doctrine,” as well as “cultivate loyal clerical networks and provide ideological training framed as religious education.”
Another opinion article, titled “Georgia is becoming Iran’s sanctions evasion hub” and authored by Keti Korkiya, was published by The Hill on February 28. The article called, among others, that the “[U.S.] Treasury Department should aggressively penalize Georgia-based individuals and entities involved in sanctions-evasion.”
Georgian Dream officials have dismissed allegations about Iran’s influence, and even called similar statements “treason.”
“Making such statements by Georgian citizens who talk about such grave facts that, in fact, do not exist, this is simply a treason against the country,” Kakha Kaladze, Tbilisi Mayor and Georgian Dream’s Secretary General, told the media on March 5, commenting on The Hill article. He called on “relevant structures” to take an interest in the matter.
“That in Georgia, an institute, a university operates which trains terrorists is a lie,” GD MP Giorgi Volski was cited by Imedi TV on March 5.
Tbilisi has attracted scrutiny over its relations with Iran over the past years, with questions intensifying amid Tehran’s crackdown on protests in the early weeks of 2026, and later the expanding conflict following U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and Iran’s retaliatory attacks across the region.
Reacting to the conflict, Tbilisi on March 2 extended condolences to both Iran and Israel, including saying “the ongoing hostilities have claimed the highest number of lives there, including the supreme leader, other political leaders, numerous innocent civilians, and dozens of children.”
On March 7, the Georgian Foreign Ministry confirmed to Georgian media outlets that a deputy foreign minister made an entry “analogous” to that government’s position in the book of condolences opened in the Iranian Embassy.
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According to the Georgian service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the country’s State Security Service (SSG) has also taken interest and launched an investigation. Leaders of the ruling Georgian Dream party have likewise issued critical statements.
Political commentators Tina Khidasheli and Giorgi Kandelaki are currently under investigation. Khidasheli is being investigated over comments made on independent TV channels, while Kandelaki is under scrutiny as a co-author of a study by the Hudson Institute.
Giorgi Kandelaki was an active participant in the Rose Revolution in 2003, which brought Mikheil Saakashvili to power. Kandelaki was a member of the United National Movement, the ruling party in Georgia until 2012. He currently heads SovLab, a project studying the Soviet past.
Tina Khidasheli is a former member of parliament from the Georgian Dream party (2012–2015) and a former Minister of Defense of Georgia (2015–2016).
What the Hudson Institute study says
On March 3, a study by the Hudson Institute was published, co-authored by Georgian political analyst Giorgi Kandelaki and Hudson Institute senior fellow Luke Coffey.
The authors conclude that Iran is systematically expanding its influence infrastructure in Georgia and encouraging parts of the population to become involved in its political, economic, and educational networks.
According to the report, this poses a threat not only to Georgia itself but also to the interests of the United States and Western countries in the wider South Caucasus region.
Among other things, the study examines the activities in Georgia of the Al-Mustafa International University, which is under sanctions by the United States and Canada for alleged espionage activities and the promotion of extremism.
What Tina Khidasheli said
On March 4, in an interview with the independent Georgian TV channel TV Pirveli, Tina Khidasheli spoke, among other things, about Al-Mustafa University.
“Everyone should understand that this is not a university — it is a school for terrorists, where people are raised with slogans such as ‘Death to America’ and ‘Death to Israel,’” Khidasheli said.
In addition, a publication by the research center Civil Idea, founded by Khidasheli, states that between 2022 and 2025 up to 72 companies registered in Georgia imported Iranian oil and petroleum products.
“While the ayatollah regime continues to brutally suppress protests in Iran, … Georgian Dream expresses diplomatic support for the authoritarian regime through public symbolic steps,” the report says.
After the publication of the two studies and amid heated debate in Georgian media and social networks, the U.S. publication The Hill published an article claiming that Georgia could become a hub for circumventing sanctions against Iran. The author also cites Tina Khidasheli.
Accusations against the researchers
After the study was published, leaders of Georgian Dream sharply criticized the researchers.
Kakha Kaladze, the mayor of Tbilisi, called them “traitors,” accusing them of acting against Georgia’s national interests and demanding an investigation into their activities.
He was supported by Deputy Speaker of Parliament Gia Volski and MP Archil Gorduladze.
Tina Khidasheli responded to the accusations by suggesting that those “who are concerned about the fate of the country and its future should focus on the real problem, rather than on whose statements they like and whose they do not.”
Comment from the State Security Service
Georgia’s State Security Service of Georgia confirmed to the Georgian service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that an investigation has been launched regarding the two studies mentioned.
The agency said it intends to determine the sources of the information and the motives of the authors, “which is particularly important against the backdrop of ongoing hostilities in the region.”
According to the press service, the investigation also concerns the studies’ claims about possible attempts by Iran to recruit residents of Georgia, as well as “any signals that may pose a threat to the country.”
“The authors of the statements will be questioned on all aspects of their claims,” the statement said.
At the same time, the agency noted that “none of them has ever submitted the relevant information to law enforcement authorities.”
The SSSG press center added that more detailed information cannot be provided because the case “concerns Georgia’s national security interests.”
News in Georgia