Western spies used lizards which can 'attract atomic waves' to spy on Iran's nuclear programme, the former chief-of-staff of the nation's armed forces has claimed.

Hassan Firuzabadi, senior military advisor to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said he did not know the details of the cases, but that the West had often used tourists, scientists and environmentalists to spy on Iran.

Firuzabadi was responding to questions from local media on the recent arrest of environmentalists.

Hassan Firuzabadi (pictured), said Western spies used a special type of lizard which could 'attract atomic waves'

'Several years ago, some individuals came to Iran to collect aid for Palestine,' he said.

'We were suspicious of the route they chose. In their possessions were a variety of reptile desert species like lizards.

'We found out that their skin attracts atomic waves and that they were nuclear spies who wanted to find out where inside the Islamic republic of Iran we have uranium mines and where we are engaged in atomic activities,' he added.

His comments come after news that a leading Iranian-Canadian environmentalist, Kavous Seyed Emami, died in prison after he was arrested along with other members of his wildlife NGO last month.

The deputy head of the Environmental Protection Organisation, Kaveh Madani, was also reportedly detained temporarily over the weekend.

Firuzabadi is senior military adviser to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (pictured)

Firuzabadi said Western spy agencies have 'failed every time'.

He also mentioned another espionage case which involved a couple from Germany.

'They got them on a fishing boat from Dubai and Kuwait and sent them to the Persian Gulf to identify our defence systems,' he said.

'But when we arrested them, they said they had come for fishing and were tourists.'

In October 2008 Iranian security forces arrested two pigeons suspected of spying on its nuclear facilities.

The birds were captured near the heavily-bunkered underground uranium enrichment plant in Natanz.

An Iranian newspaper at the time quoted a source as saying one of the pigeons was 'caught bearing a blue-coated metal ring, with invisible strings'.

The source gave no further description of the pigeons, what country they may have been spying for, nor what their fate might be.