Ministry of Intelligence Claims to Have Transferred One of the Main Elements of the Kerman Explosions into Iran

On Saturday, July 23, the Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic claimed to have 'obtained' Abdullah Koyta and transferred him into Iran, labeling him as 'one of the main elements designing and guiding the terrorist operations in Kerman.' In a statement published in Iranian media, the Ministry did not specify the time and place of Abdullah Koyta's arrest, only stating that the 'information received' from him has played a significant role in uncovering many of the Takfiri plots, identifying other main elements, and their hiding places in the region, and is still being utilized. During two explosions at a government ceremony marking the fourth anniversary of the death of Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Kerman on January 3 of last year, over 100 people were killed and more than 210 were injured. A U.S. government official stated after the explosion to VOA that the U.S. had warned the Islamic Republic about 'the existence of a terrorist threat within the borders of Iran' prior to the January 3 terrorist attacks during the government ceremony commemorating Qassem Soleimani's death. He added, 'Before the ISIS terrorist attack in Kerman, the U.S. government privately warned Iran about the existence of a terrorist threat within Iran's borders.' This U.S. official emphasized that various U.S. administrations have pursued a long-standing policy of 'warning duty' to notify governments about potential deadly threats, highlighting that one of the reasons for these warnings is that the U.S. does not want to witness the loss of 'innocent lives in terrorist attacks.' At that time, VOA received information indicating that this warning was conveyed more than a week before the January 3 attack in Iran. The Wall Street Journal also reported on January 25 of last year, citing U.S. officials, that the United States had warned the Islamic Republic about ISIS's planning for a 'terrorist attack' in Kerman more than a week before the explosions during the commemoration ceremony for Qassem Soleimani. After the occurrence of these two explosions, ISIS claimed responsibility for them. In another part of its statement, the Ministry of Intelligence claimed that from June 21 to July 5 of this year, 'by identifying multiple group cores and 79 direct confrontations and strikes against them,' dozens of individuals labeled as 'terrorist elements and support factors and suppliers of weapons and ammunition' have been arrested. The Ministry did not provide details about the locations of these arrests, only referring to 'the eastern border strip' and 'the northwestern borders,' and introduced the detainees as 'a number of terrorist elements' from 'separatist groups based in the Kurdistan region of Iraq,' 'other anti-revolutionary groups,' and 'the Mojahedin' (a term used by the Islamic Republic for the People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran).