Ahmadi-Moghaddam: ISIS Recently Advanced to 40 Kilometers from Iran's Border

According to the commander of Iran's police force, the Islamic State group, or ISIS, had advanced "recently" to 40 kilometers from Iran's border near the city of Qasr-e Shirin in Kermanshah province, but currently is "not close to our borders at any point." He also mentioned that "these terrorists" are attempting to carry out operations within Iran. Ismail Ahmadi-Moghaddam, the chief of Iran's police, stated on Thursday, January 8, that "the developments in Iraq have largely pushed ISIS terrorists away from our borders, and they are not close to our borders at any point." He added, "Recently, terrorist groups had advanced to 40 kilometers from our border near Qasr-e Shirin, but those areas have been cleared by the armed and popular forces of Iraq, and now they are far from our country." Reports indicate that ISIS captured the cities of Jalawla and Saadiyah in Diyala province, Iraq, in June, which are about 41 kilometers from the Khosravi border in Qasr-e Shirin, Iran. In early December of this year, the Iraqi army, supported by Shiite and Kurdish militias, recaptured these two cities from ISIS militants. Ahmad Reza Pourdastan, the commander of the Iranian army's ground forces, also warned ISIS on Tuesday, January 6. He stated, "When this group approached our borders, we drew a red line 40 kilometers into Iraqi territory and emphasized that if they cross this red line, they will face decisive action from the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran." Ahmadi-Moghaddam continued, "In any case, these terrorists are causing mischief and are trying to carry out operations in our country, but so far, due to the vigilance and care of our security forces, they have not succeeded in doing so." According to ISNA news agency, Mahmoud Alavi, Iran's Minister of Intelligence, told members of the National Security Commission of Parliament on Tuesday, January 6, that "terrorist groups are trying to exacerbate insecurity by introducing suicide and explosive devices." Alavi also reported on Wednesday, December 24, the arrest of three individuals who allegedly intended to carry out a "suicide operation" during the last days of the month of Safar at religious gatherings in Tehran. Meanwhile, Qassem Rezaei, the commander of the Islamic Republic's border police, reported on Monday, January 5, the arrest of "three Afghan citizens" who, according to him, entered Iran with "explosive devices" and "intended to join ISIS." In recent months, Iranian officials have also reported the detention of groups that planned to carry out "bombings" and "suicide operations" during religious occasions in Iran. Some Iranian officials have pointed out the transnational nature of some of these groups. For instance, Hossein Zolfaqari, the Deputy Minister of Security and Law Enforcement, stated on October 21 that "armed and guerrilla groups that are not in our region carry out sporadic attacks." He also reported that 24 groups intended to enter Iranian territory for "suicide operations," but Iranian forces prevented their entry and destroyed two groups before they could enter the country.