Iran's Border Commander: Three Terrorists Arrested at Northwestern Borders

One day after Iran's Minister of Intelligence announced the arrest of three "suicide operatives," Qasem Rezaei, the commander of the border police, stated that these individuals were arrested "at the northwestern borders of Iran." In an interview with the police news agency published on Thursday, January 4, he added that the arrested individuals were "carrying quantities of explosives." The border commander of Iran mentioned that "investigations in this regard are ongoing." Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of Intelligence, reported on Wednesday the arrest of "three leaders of terrorist groups" at border points. According to this official of the Islamic Republic, the detainees intended to "carry out a suicide operation" during the last days of the month of Safar at religious gatherings in Tehran. However, neither the Minister of Intelligence nor the border commander specified which group or groups opposed to the Islamic Republic the detainees were affiliated with. On November 21, the Minister of Intelligence also reported the arrest of "individuals" who, according to him, intended to bomb the city of Qom during the days of Muharram this year. On October 7, Alavi also reported the discovery of two explosive vests without providing details, stating that these vests were prepared for detonation on the day known as Quds Day in Iran, the last Friday of Ramadan, in two provinces of Iran. He also mentioned the "confrontation with the Al-Furqan group and the discovery and neutralization of their heavy explosive shipments," stating that this shipment was supposed to be detonated "in one of the populous and sacred cities of Iran." Al-Furqan is a militia group active against the Iranian government in the Sistan and Baluchestan province. The Young Journalists Club reported in 2012 that this group has been active since 1996. Some officials of the Islamic Republic have reported that several of these groups have transnational connections, claiming that they intended to bomb and "carry out suicide operations" in Iran in recent months. For instance, Hossein Zolfaqari, the Deputy Minister of Security and Law Enforcement, stated on October 21 that "armed and guerrilla groups that are not in our region are carrying out scattered attacks." He also reported that 24 groups intended to enter Iranian territory for "carrying out suicide operations," but Iranian forces prevented their entry and "destroyed" two groups before they could enter the country. Security officials of the Islamic Republic have also reported the arrest of several "elements of the ISIS group" in recent months. The Minister of Intelligence had previously announced the arrest of 130 individuals linked to "takfiri" groups in the country.