Increased Presence of Special Forces in Tehran for 'Counter-Threat Training'

Two weeks after the Iraqi Foreign Minister's warning about potential actions by ISIS in Iran, a police commander cited the reason for the increased number of police officers and special forces in the streets of Tehran as conducting 'anti-terrorism' drills and training to counter 'potential threats'. According to ISNA news agency, Hossein Sajjadi-Nia, the commander of Tehran's police, stated on Saturday, December 7, that the police have recently begun an 'operational exercise' to confront 'any potential threat' across Tehran. Sajjadi-Nia mentioned that this 'operational exercise' includes police units such as special forces, undercover male and female officers, and bomb disposal teams. He emphasized that these 'anti-terrorism drills' will continue as long as necessary, but conducting these exercises 'does not mean that something has happened in Tehran'. Sajjadi-Nia attributed the increase in police patrols to the implementation of a 'neighborhood security plan' and urged citizens to report 'suspicious and criminal activities' to the police. Simultaneously, Iran's Interior Minister stated at a press conference on Saturday that the presence of police forces in Tehran's streets was a 'drill' and that they aim to 'assess and evaluate' the situation regarding threats. Following the Paris terrorist attacks on November 22, Ibrahim Jaafari, Iraq's Foreign Minister, stated that his country's intelligence service had obtained information indicating that France, the United States, and Iran are among the countries that terrorists intend to target in new attacks. In response to this warning, Hossein Ashtari, the commander of the Islamic Republic's police, stated on Tuesday, November 26, that Iran's security apparatus is 'fully prepared' to deal with any potential actions. On the same day, Bahman Reyhani, the commander of the Nabi Akram Corps in Kermanshah, reported that 'many teams' from the Islamic State (ISIS) that had been active in the province for the past two years had been arrested by the IRGC and the Ministry of Intelligence. The day before, Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of Intelligence, mentioned that 'over 10 terrorist groups were discovered during the month of Muharram'. Meanwhile, on Saturday, November 30, the Ministry of Intelligence announced the 'destruction of two terrorist teams' in the provinces of West Azerbaijan and Sistan and Baluchestan. In this context, the Minister of Intelligence presented a 'detailed' report on the 'intelligence oversight' and 'security and military operations' of the Ministry of Intelligence and police forces against 'takfiri and terrorist groups' during a meeting of the Expediency Discernment Council on Saturday, December 7. Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, also provided a report on the 'latest political, military, and economic situation in the region and the movements of terrorist and takfiri groups in the region and Europe'. The public relations office of the Expediency Discernment Council did not provide details of these reports but noted that the meeting praised the 'anti-terrorism efforts of the Ministry of Intelligence'.