Minister of Information: Identification of All Individuals Linked to ISIS in Iran

The Iranian Minister of Information states that "the related cells and teams" of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iran have been "completely" identified one after another, and "their members have been targeted." According to Tasnim News Agency, Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of Information, did not provide further details in his remarks before the Friday prayers on June 8 in Tehran. He also mentioned that "takfiri elements intended to poison the food of one of the large delegations in Tehran," which were "identified, targeted, and did not have the opportunity to carry out their plot." The Minister of Information added: "Takfiri and terrorist elements who planned an armed robbery in Tehran and a bomb explosion in Qom at the shrine of Hazrat Masoumeh have been identified and targeted." Mr. Alavi also reported the arrest and killing of individuals who, according to him, intended to carry out "suicide operations during the Quds Day rallies in Shiraz and Zahedan" last year. On Tuesday, October 7, 2014, he also mentioned the arrest of 130 individuals linked to what he called "takfiri" groups and the discovery of two explosive vests that were reportedly prepared for an explosion on Quds Day in two provinces. Previously, Iranian media reported on June 13, 2014, citing one of the Deputy Ministers of Information named "Khazaei," that 30 individuals linked to the "ISIS" group were arrested within a month. Meanwhile, Mr. Alavi last year reported the arrest of three individuals accused of intending to carry out "suicide operations" in religious gatherings in Tehran, as well as the arrest of "individuals" who, according to him, had "plans for bombings" in the religious city of Qom. In his remarks on Friday, the Minister of Information also referred to the arrest of those involved in the kidnapping of an Iranian fencer last year, stating: "In intelligence gathering from this terrorist group, it became clear... they had planned several bombing operations in Mashhad, and all their equipment, bomb-making materials, and explosives were discovered and seized." In April 2014, Hamed Sedaghat, who had been a member of the Iranian national fencing team for over seven years, along with Mehdi Hossein Qarlari, a lawyer, was kidnapped on the road from Khash to Zahedan. They were released on August 16. Ali-Asghar Mirshakari, the security and law enforcement deputy of Sistan province, reported the arrest of the kidnappers of this fencer, stating that they intended to "extort five million dollars equivalent to 15 billion tomans" for their release. The Minister of Information also referred to the death of Hisham Azizi, the commander of the "Ansar al-Furqan" group, stating that this group had "prepared many individuals for suicide operations, whose actions in various provinces were identified and all of them were targeted." Previously, the Iranian Ministry of Information reported that Hisham Azizi, known as Abu Hafs al-Balouchi, the commander of the "Ansar al-Furqan" group, and two of his companions were killed on Wednesday, April 22, in Sistan and Baluchestan province.