Claims by the Ministry of Intelligence Regarding the Arrest of One of the 'Main Designers' of the Kerman Explosions

The Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic has claimed that following the incident that led to the death of Ebrahim Raisi until the second round of the presidential elections, there have been '79 direct confrontations' with individuals labeled as 'terrorist elements.' The statement from this ministry, published on Saturday, July 23, reported the arrest of a person named 'Abdullah Koyta,' described as 'one of the main designers and coordinators of the Kerman terrorist operations,' and stated that he has been 'transferred' to Iran. The statement did not clarify in which country he was arrested. On December 13 of last year, two explosions during the anniversary ceremony of Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in Kerman resulted in the deaths of over 90 people. The Islamic State group, known as 'ISIS,' claimed responsibility for these explosions, and Reuters reported that U.S. intelligence indicated that ISIS Khorasan was responsible for the Kerman explosions. About three weeks later, U.S. officials stated that prior to the attack, the United States had warned the Islamic Republic in a 'private message' that 'ISIS' intended to carry out a 'terrorist attack' in Iran. However, Iranian officials denied this issue. The Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic announced on January 21 of last year the arrest of 35 individuals in six provinces as 'perpetrators and affiliates' of the Kerman explosions. This announcement also identified the main designer and supporter of this operation as a Tajikistani individual 'using the alias Abdullah Tajiki,' who had left the country two days before this 'terrorist' incident. Eight days later, the ministry reported the killing of 'two terrorists of foreign nationality' who had entered Iran a few days after the Kerman explosions 'with the aim of carrying out further operations' in the city. In another part of its statement on Saturday, the Ministry of Intelligence reported attempts by 'separatist groups' based in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization to carry out operations inside Iran following the death of Ebrahim Raisi, claiming that these attempts have failed. This security agency of the Islamic Republic announced that from May 30 to July 15 of this year, dozens of individuals have been arrested in various operations, and '9 ready bombs' have been discovered and defused. According to this statement, without differentiating between the declared opposition groups, the provinces of Tehran, Alborz, Qazvin, Razavi Khorasan, Fars, Sistan and Baluchestan, Hormozgan, and Bushehr have been prioritized for their attacks. It also mentioned 'individuals with a history' who had entered Iran to lead or carry out 'suicide operations,' but were 'identified and arrested.'