Iran’s Intelligence Ministry says any form of cooperation with the British Council — which has a record of helping London recruit spies — is forbidden and will lead to prosecution, reports Press TV.

The ministry’s Public Relations Office said Tuesday that “the UK — which has a long history of infiltration, creating networks and generating propaganda in various countries — was planning to implement a project for cultural networking purposes” in cahoots with the British Council in Iran.

With timely action, it said, the country’s intelligence forces prevented Britain from “implementing [the project] and achieving its goal” of infiltrating into Iran’s educational sphere. The British Council describes itself as the United Kingdom’s “international organization for cultural relations and educational opportunities.” But to many in the international community, the British Council is merely viewed as a tool of British foreign policy.