Alavi: Eight Non-Iranian Individuals Planning Terrorist Operations Arrested

The Iranian Minister of Intelligence announced that forces from this ministry have arrested eight non-Iranian individuals, whom he described as members of 'terrorist Takfiri groups', who intended to 'disrupt' the February 11 ceremonies and carry out 'terrorist operations' in Tehran and several other cities in Iran. According to the state news agency IRNA, Mahmoud Alavi reported on Saturday, February 11, that the Ministry of Intelligence forces 'identified and prevented one of the organized plots of Takfiri terrorist groups' that was being prepared to 'disrupt' the February 11 ceremonies. Alavi stated that the operations of the Ministry of Intelligence took place from February 4 to February 10, during which a 'secret network of terrorist elements' around Tehran and in some western and eastern provinces of the country was identified and eight of its 'main elements' were arrested. He announced that all the arrested individuals are non-Iranian and 'some of them are connected to one of the prominent leaders of a Takfiri group' who has recently been killed. However, no further details were provided regarding the identities of the arrested individuals or the name of the person who was said to be 'one of the prominent leaders of the Takfiri group' and 'recently killed'. Alavi had previously stated in December that security forces had identified and killed 'one of the leaders of ISIS' in 'border areas' of Iran. He referred to this 'senior member of ISIS' as 'Abu Aisha Kurdish' and mentioned that he was identified and killed along with several other suicide bombers at the border of the country. In this context, Iranian security officials confirmed in late August the occurrence of two clashes between intelligence, security, and police forces in Kermanshah province with teams 'affiliated with ISIS', announcing that four 'ISIS affiliates' were killed and six others were arrested in these clashes. At the same time, it was reported that one of the casualties of these clashes was described as a 'high-ranking' and 'effective element' of the Islamic State group in Iraq. Subsequently, some Iranian media, including the Tasnim news agency, reported that this individual was named 'Abu Aisha' and according to some information, he was the 'operations deputy' of the Islamic State group, ISIS. 'Under the guidance of individuals in neighboring countries' Alavi also stated in his remarks on Saturday that the arrested individuals were 'under the direct guidance of individuals stationed in some neighboring countries', and 'legal action to pursue this is on the agenda'. He said that these individuals had also prepared 'Kalashnikov rifles and other terrorist equipment' for 'executing several terrorist operations' in Tehran and some cities in the country. The Minister of Intelligence did not provide further details about the arrest of these individuals. Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the Attorney General of Iran, also reported on Friday the arrest of 'a group of ISIS members around Tehran' and stated that 'ISIS was looking to show its evils during the February 11 rally'. He promised that more news about these arrests would be published 'in the coming days' without providing further details. Iranian officials have long reported on their confrontations with members of 'Takfiri groups' in various regions of Iran, but they do not provide precise details about the operations conducted and the individuals arrested or killed. The Iranian Minister of Intelligence has repeatedly reported the arrest of 'terrorist' groups affiliated with the Islamic State in Iran. Earlier this year, in an interview with the 'Al-Mayadeen' television network, he mentioned that ISIS had 'attempted several times' to 'send terrorist groups to Iran', and some of these groups were targeted during the tenth parliamentary elections. On June 21, the Ministry of Intelligence also announced in a statement the 'neutralization' of 'several bombings' planned by 'Wahhabi Takfiri groups' in Tehran and 'several other provinces' and the arrest of several individuals in this regard. Following this, Iranian television aired a film stating that these individuals had been instructed by the Islamic State, ISIS, to arrange attacks in '50 locations in Tehran'. Apart from the border provinces of Iran, where reports of 'confrontations with ISIS affiliates' are occasionally published, Mohammad Reza Khabaz, the governor of Semnan, stated in October that several members of the Islamic State, ISIS, had been arrested in this province and a quantity of 'explosives' had been discovered from them. In none of these cases have there been follow-up reports regarding the files of the arrested individuals and the judicial proceedings against them.