Iran's Border Guard: We Have Arrested Three Afghans Who Intended to Join ISIS

The commander of the Islamic Republic's border guard announced the arrest of "three Afghan citizens" who, according to him, entered Iran with "explosive devices" and "intended to join the ISIS group." Qasem Rezaei stated on Tuesday, January 15, that these individuals, who had crossed from Iran's eastern borders, were arrested at the northwestern border of Iran. He added, "In this operation, three individuals who entered the country at night with explosive equipment were arrested by our targeted patrols." The border guard commander had previously reported on December 24 the arrest of "three suicide bombers" in northwestern Iran but had not provided further details. He now states that three Afghan citizens intending to join the "Islamic State" (formerly ISIS) were arrested at the northwestern borders. Qasem Rezaei did not clarify whether the individuals he mentioned were the same as those previously arrested or if they were newly apprehended. Mahmoud Alavi, Iran's Minister of Intelligence, reported on Wednesday, December 24, the arrest of three individuals who, according to him, intended to "carry out a suicide operation" during the last days of the month of Safar at religious gatherings in Tehran. Mr. Alavi did not mention the identities of the arrested individuals or the exact location of their arrest. On September 8, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, Iran's Minister of Interior, also reported the arrest of individuals intending to "join ISIS." At that time, Mr. Fazli spoke of the arrest of "three Afghan and Pakistani citizens." In recent months, Islamic Republic officials have also reported the arrest of groups intending to "carry out bombings" and "suicide operations" in Iran during religious occasions. Some officials have pointed to the transnational nature of some of these groups. For instance, Hossein Zolfaqari, the Deputy Minister of Interior for Security and Law Enforcement, stated on October 21 that "armed and guerrilla groups not located in our region carry out scattered attacks." He also reported that 24 groups intended to enter Iranian territory for "suicide operations," but Iranian forces prevented their entry and destroyed two groups before they could enter the country. The Minister of Intelligence had previously reported the arrest of 130 individuals linked to groups labeled as "takfiri." "We are surrounded by many threats," the commander of the border guard continued on Tuesday, stating, "We need an 8 trillion tomans budget for the borders, which requires an annual allocation of 1.5 trillion tomans. This is while this year's budget is projected at 87 billion tomans, which is significant compared to 1.5 trillion tomans." According to ISNA news agency, Mr. Rezaei added, "1,500 kilometers of the border lack roads, which has reduced our access to these areas." He emphasized, "On the other hand, we are surrounded by many threats, and due to the weakness of oversight and border control by some neighboring countries, we are, in fact, the border guards of neighboring countries as well." The Islamic Republic faces security challenges and the movement of armed opposition forces at some of its borders, particularly in the Sistan and Baluchestan province. Islamic Republic officials state that Pakistan, which has a long border with Sistan and Baluchestan, has become a "safe haven for terrorists."