Announcement of 'Bomb' Discovery in Karaj and Arrest of 4 Foreign Nationals Concurrent with Claim of 20 Countries' Involvement in Nationwide Protests

On Tuesday, June 18, 2023, the official media of Ali Khamenei published an interview with Mohammad Kazemi, head of the IRGC Intelligence Organization, claiming that intelligence services from nearly 20 countries were involved in last year's 'riots'. A few hours later, the Tasnim news agency, affiliated with the IRGC, reported the discovery of an explosive package in Hashtgerd, Karaj, and the arrest of 4 foreign nationals in this context. Tasnim quoted the IRGC of Alborz province stating that this explosive package was found in a 'waste depot' near a high-voltage power post and a gas pressure reduction station, leading to the arrest of 4 foreign nationals. In a detailed interview with the official website of 'Ali Khamenei', Mohammad Kazemi reiterated the term 'riots' instead of 'protests', attributing these protests to the movements and planning of 'enemies'. He claimed that based on intelligence investigations in the IRGC Intelligence Organization, the involvement and participation of intelligence services from nearly twenty countries in these 'riots' has been proven, with some countries involving multiple intelligence services in this matter. He considered the intervention of the intelligence services and embassies of these countries to be direct and indirect, or through collaboration with proxy agents in various political, security, diplomatic, legal, and cyber arenas, adding: 'The USA, UK, UAE, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Canada, Belgium, Austria, Albania, Australia, Iceland, Italy, Kosovo, Norway, Bahrain, New Zealand, and Israel were involved in creating and directing these protests and have divided tasks among themselves.' Meanwhile, Mohammad Kazemi, along with four other senior commanders of this organization named Sayyari, Mohagheghi, and Bazghandi, were sanctioned by the United States on May 27, 2023, for their roles in the detention of American citizens. On June 3, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department told Voice of America that the Islamic Republic has a long history of 'hostage-taking' and unjustly imprisoning foreign nationals as a 'political leverage'.