Arrest of 'One of the Organizers of ISIS Operations' in the Suburbs of Karaj

On Wednesday, September 13, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Shahriar County, Karaj, announced the arrest of a member of the Islamic State (ISIS) in the suburbs of Karaj, stating that he was one of the organizers of ISIS suicide operations. Colonel Amin Yamini added that the arrested individual 'has made significant confessions and was attempting to organize 300 terrorists to carry out suicide operations during the mourning days of Muharram.' According to the commander, this person is 'a member of the Ajnad al-Sham branch of ISIS' and 'had spent the night in Dowlatabad, Shahr-e Rey, after entering Iran' and was arrested in the 'Andisheh' area. Colonel Yamini described the Ajnad al-Sham group as a branch of ISIS, while this group is considered a subsidiary of the Jaish al-Fateh. He further noted that this ISIS member was equipped with a satellite phone, stating, 'Very important information has been extracted from his phone,' and currently, IRGC intelligence officers are interrogating him. Regarding the method of his arrest, the commander explained that contact was established with this ISIS member via his mobile phone, and security and intelligence agents 'coordinated a meeting with him in the Andisheh area of Shahriar County under the guise of being related to ISIS.' Iranian security and judicial officials have reported the arrest of dozens of individuals linked to ISIS in various regions of Iran following the attacks on June 7 against the Iranian Parliament and the tomb of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran. The Parliament building and the tomb were targeted in two simultaneous attacks on June 7, for which ISIS claimed responsibility shortly after. In this attack, 17 people were killed and over 50 were injured. Following this, Aladdin Boroujerdi, the head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Parliament, announced the preparation of a plan for 'increased security measures' for this institution, stating that the plan would also consider a 'special place' for public gatherings. The IRGC also announced on June 18 that in retaliation for the Tehran attacks, it targeted an ISIS center in Deir ez-Zor, Syria with its missiles.