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An Iranian activist who was doxed by a pro-Regime Telegram channel alongside dozens of other expats has said he now ‘has a target on his back’.

Ali Taranssari’s personal information was published on the ‘Bay of Pigs’ pages that aims to ‘identify overseas traitors’.

The channel has exposed the bank details, contact information, relatives and locations of more than a dozen UK-based anti-Regime campaigners to thousands of followers.

Security sources told WTX the level of detail and professionalism of the operation suggests Tehran could be behind the account and trying to intimidate opponents into silence.

Mr Taranssari, who was doxed at the end of April, said: ‘My first impression was to laugh it off. But the reality is that there is a major threat against us, and it’s going to get bigger and bigger day after day.

‘It puts a target on my back. There is an ample number of people who are seeing these names and details on this Telegram channel.

‘We know that the regime is recruiting for people to do their dirty work on British soil.’

The ‘Bay of Pigs’ channel operates across Telegram and Iranian channel Eitaa and has thousands of followers reading details about doxed Iranian activists who are opposed to the Regime.

There is also a connected smaller UK branch of the channel that specifically exposes the details of diaspora living in Britain.

WTX has found evidence of bank details, names of family members and mobile numbers of British-Iranians being leaked.

The channel revealed details of Mr Taranssari’s business records and that he is a Reform candidate in Birmingham in this week’s local election.

The post labels him ‘Pig number 11’, ‘a dirty pig’, and describes him as a ‘staunch supporter of the Pahlavi movement’.

The channel appears to have been shut down by Telegram in the past and then set up again. The current pages have all been switched to private by admins.

The ‘Bay of Pigs’ name appears to refer to the botched US-sponsored invasion of Cuba in 1961, which led to thousands of Cuban dissidents being imprisoned or rounded up.

‘It is an attempt to spread fear’

Mr Taranssari – who has reported the post to Counter Terror Police and West Midlands Police – said he thought the posts were ‘effectively a kill list’.

The council candidate added: ‘This is a professional job – it is not a lone wolf getting excited.’

He claimed: ‘It is definitely regime-backed and operated.

‘It could even be the elements sitting within the Islamic Republic Embassy that are behind this.’

UK counter terrorism specialist Roger Macmillan labelled the Bay of Pigs page was a ‘diaspora intimidation plot.

He said the ‘level of detail and targeting’ meant the Telegram accounts ‘may be state-backed’.

The UK-specific account appears to be run by ‘someone from the Persian community in the UK’, he added.

Macmillan continued: ‘It is an attempt to spread fear. It is to make them nervous about their daily business. It is an information operation campaign.’

It is impossible to know who is behind a Telegram account due to the site’s privacy protections.

Another security source specialising in Iranian affairs told WTX: ‘The inclusion of personal data indicates at least some level of state involvement in what is likely an information operation intended to intimidate diaspora dissidents into silence.’

Mr Taranssari speculated that the Iranian regime could be paying loyal expats in the UK money to reveal personal details of other members of the community.

He said: ‘Those that have had their bank cards exposed, I think they’ve got close family members or people that they work with that are obviously sharing this information with the regime.’

As well as feeling ‘quite exposed’ because he is out and about canvassing for the election, he also fears the posts doxing him could have wider repercussions.

The council candidate explained: ‘Besides the risk on British soil, the biggest risk is for my parents who are in Iran. They are likely to get targeted because what I am doing here.’

What has Reform said?

A Reform UK spokesman said: ‘The targeting and doxxing of Reform UK candidate Ali Taranssari is deeply alarming and wholly unacceptable.

‘This kind of intimidation is dangerous and no individual should be made to fear for their safety. We welcome the referral of this case to Counter Terrorism Policing.

‘Reform UK will always stand firm in defending the safety and security of our candidates.’

Iran has already faced huge criticism for their activity in Telegram channels in the UK.

WTX revealed last month that the Iranian embassy in London attempted to recruit expats to become martyrs and ‘sacrifice their lives for the Homeland’.

The Iranian Ambassador was then  summoned to the Foreign Office over the embassy’s ‘unacceptable and inflammatory’ social media comments.

West Midlands Police said: ‘We’ve received a report from a candidate for the role of councillor in relation to online messages, and are carrying out a number of enquiries.’

The Iranian Embassy in London and the Home Office has been contacted for comment.

An £11 pint is an abomination. Let’s get that out the way first.

Here in the capital, we’ve become used to booze prices that would make non-Londoners’ eyes water – with laughter, mainly.

But there’s something about that double-digit threshold that still holds the power to turn stomachs and freeze spines. It goes against everything Winston Churchill and Princess Diana stood for.

When I learnt there was a bar in central London that was serving beers that didn’t just breach the £10 barrier, but whacked another pound on top, something stirred deep in my soul. I needed to get my head around it.

The venue is Stanley’s rooftop bar, which can be found at the top of the four-star Chesterfield hotel in Mayfair. It’s posh. Of course it is – there are about a dozen blue plaques in the surrounding streets, and a quarter of those are for 19th century Prime Ministers.

That doesn’t mean you can’t get in, though, as long as you present yourself with enough confidence.

I was wearing unforgivably scruffy trainers and a second-hand corduroy shirt. My hope was that I would be mistaken for one of those crypto freaks who are too rich to worry about their appearance.

The doorman (yes, I know) asked if I had a reservation, and I said no. He pointed me towards the receptionist, who informed the bar upstairs that a man named Craig Munro was on his way to have a drink on his own.

Then I was accompanied to the mirrored lift and told to press the button for the fifth floor. At Stanley’s, I was greeted by a barman in a white tuxedo and black tie who checked the details sent from the reception and asked if I would like some water.

It arrived quickly, with ice and a slice of lemon. The handsome barkeep placed the glass on a black leather beermat embossed with the golden logo of the Chesterfield, alongside a ramekin of unidentifiable nibbles.

There were two £11 beer options on the menu. They were – brace yourself – Birra Moretti or Heineken. I opted for Heineken, as this seemed to be especially egregious.

When the pint appeared, it was in a non-branded glass which was extraordinarily thin and delicate. If I’d closed my eyes, I could have been sipping my bog-standard Dutch lager from bone china.

At this point, I’d like to acknowledge something.

There will almost certainly come a point in the future where £11 pints are the norm, in London at least. And people may come across this article and think, ‘That’s is what you used to get for £11? Nibbles and black leather beer mats?’

But for the time being, this is not normal. So what’s going on? How are they getting away with this?

The owner of a whisky bar in Stirling once told me the flavour of Scotch doesn’t change much after it’s been aged in the barrel for 20 years or so. However, people will pay thousands of pounds for whiskies that have been aged for decades, purely for the prestige of owning them.

American sociologist Thorstein Veblen called this ‘conspicuous consumption’ – the signalling of social status through shopping habits.

On the walk to the Chesterfield, I passed a man taking a picture of his friends climbing into the back of a black cab holding a dozen Harrods bags.

Perhaps later, they would take a group selfie clinking glasses of £11 Heineken at Stanley’s rooftop bar. It’s not so much about the product, it’s about the fact they can afford it. They know it’s cheaper elsewhere – that’s part of the appeal.

Was the Heineken good? Of course it wasn’t. It’s the Big Mac of beers, a reliably consistent option for people who are scared of trying something unfamiliar. A pint for the kind of guy who goes to the Irish pub on a holiday to Vietnam.

But here I was, sitting on a rooftop in Mayfair with wicker furniture and a view over the surrounding rooftops. It was clean, modern and the staff were very polite. The last two pages in the bar menu were dedicated to cigars.

This atmosphere was so intoxicating that I didn’t even bother to check the bill when it was brought over. I just tapped my card against the machine. That’s what people in this kind of establishment do, isn’t it?

It was only when I was back at street level that I checked my receipt. £12.65 – the scoundrels had added a 15% tip.