Arrest of Several Iranian and Afghan 'ISIS' Members in Mashhad

The Deputy Prosecutor of Mashhad announced that 21 individuals, Iranian and Afghan members of the Islamic State group, ISIS, who intended to carry out 'suicide operations' in Iran, have been arrested in the city of Mashhad. Hassan Heydari, the Deputy Prosecutor, in an interview with the Khorasan newspaper on Thursday, July 6, did not specify the number but mentioned that some of the detainees are Iranian and some are Afghan, and these individuals entered the country 'by forging and abusing documents.' Heydari stated that these individuals 'entered the country after receiving training in combat and suicide operations or pledging allegiance to ISIS leaders.' He also mentioned that some of the detainees had previously 'carried out actions and operations in favor of ISIS abroad.' According to Heydari, interrogations revealed that these individuals 'intended to carry out various operations such as infiltration or suicide operations.' The Deputy Prosecutor of Mashhad did not provide further details about the arrests. The attacks on Wednesday, June 7, in Tehran were described as 'infiltration operations.' Reports describe that in 'infiltration operations,' ISIS forces initially engage in fighting and killing people with weapons, and when the possibility of their arrest arises, they detonate themselves. The Parliament building and the tomb of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran were targeted in two simultaneous attacks on June 7, for which ISIS claimed responsibility hours later. In this attack, 17 people were killed and over 50 were injured. Following this, Iranian security and judicial officials announced that dozens had been arrested in the provinces of Alborz, West Azerbaijan, Fars, Kermanshah, and Kurdistan. Meanwhile, Ahmadreza Pourdastan, the Deputy Commander of the Iranian Army, announced on Wednesday, July 7, that '60 terrorist groups' have entered Iran so far, but 'none' have succeeded. Pourdastan did not specify the dates of these groups' entry into Iran. In this context, on Saturday, July 3, after gunfire was heard at Mehrabad Airport, Mohsen Hamdani, the Deputy Security of Tehran Province, announced that a 'counter-terrorism drill' was held in Hall 4 of this airport. Three days later, Iranian media reported the death of Mehdi Yazdi, an airport security officer, during this 'drill,' which was confirmed by the Public Relations of the Revolutionary Guards' Protection Command. However, the Revolutionary Guards did not provide details about this incident. The Revolutionary Guards also announced on June 28 that in retaliation for the Tehran attacks, they targeted one of ISIS's centers in Deir ez-Zor, Syria, with missiles. The number of missiles fired was reported to be six, and the Revolutionary Guards deemed this operation 'successful,' although the Haaretz newspaper, citing Israeli military officials, reported that only two of the fired missiles hit the intended targets. Meanwhile, the office of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic published a report of a meeting between the commanders of the Revolutionary Guards and Ayatollah Khamenei two weeks after this event, stating that it took place only hours after the attack. In this meeting, Ayatollah Khamenei praised this action and called for the expansion of Iran's missile program.