Two Arrested in Kermanshah in Connection with Deadly Attacks in Tehran

The police in Kermanshah reported the arrest of two individuals in connection with the deadly ISIS attacks in Tehran on Wednesday. The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported on Friday, June 9, that these individuals were identified and arrested in the city of "Ravansar" in Kermanshah province. The Ministry of Intelligence also announced in a statement that it had identified and arrested "other terrorist elements linked to the terrorist act on the 12th of Ramadan, before any further action." The statement from the Ministry of Intelligence mentioned that "a significant amount of weapons, bomb-making materials, explosive belts, communication devices, and fake documents" were discovered during this operation. The Ministry also reported the identification and clearing of "several safe houses of Wahhabi-Takfiri terrorists in the northwest" of Iran. The day before, Hossein Sajjadi-Nia, the commander of the Tehran police, announced that by Thursday, five individuals had been arrested as "suspects related to recent terrorist activities." Security and judicial officials had previously reported the arrest of one female attacker involved in the assault on the mausoleum of Ruhollah Khomeini in southern Tehran. During two attacks by the Islamic State group on the mausoleum of the founder of the Islamic Republic and the Parliament building on Wednesday, June 7, at least 17 people lost their lives and 52 others were injured. In recent days, the group has released statements, photos, and videos related to the events before and after the deadly attacks in Tehran. ISIS, claiming responsibility for these attacks, threatened to carry out further actions of this nature in Iran. Iranian officials and military commanders have explicitly stated in response to the attacks and threats that they will respond to the actions of the Islamic State group in the near future. In recent years, Iranian officials have implicitly named Saudi Arabia as the main supporter of the ISIS group, with Gholamali Khoshroo, Iran's representative to the United Nations, implying in a letter to the UN Secretary-General that Saudi Arabia is the "source" of the "extremist" ideology leading to the formation of extremist groups such as ISIS and al-Qaeda. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, also stated in a condolence message to the victims' families that the result of such attacks would be "increased hatred towards the governments of the United States and their agents in the region such as Saudi Arabia." Friday prayer leaders in several cities also referred to the attacks on Wednesday in their sermons, blaming the United States and the enemies of the Islamic Republic for these attacks. Ahmadreza Pourdastan, the deputy commander of the army, described the attacks on Wednesday as lacking operational capability "militarily" and stated that "arrogant" countries have spent billions of dollars on operational activities in Iran, but they will not succeed.