Spain Arrests ISIS Cell Planning Terrorist Attacks in Europe

FILE: Spanish civil guard members lead a person arrested on suspicion of links to militant group ISIS after a house search in Granada, southern Spain April 16, 2016. REUTERS/Pepe Marin
FILE: Spanish civil guard members lead a person arrested on suspicion of links to militant group ISIS after a house search in Granada, southern Spain April 16, 2016. REUTERS/Pepe Marin
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Spain Arrests ISIS Cell Planning Terrorist Attacks in Europe

FILE: Spanish civil guard members lead a person arrested on suspicion of links to militant group ISIS after a house search in Granada, southern Spain April 16, 2016. REUTERS/Pepe Marin
FILE: Spanish civil guard members lead a person arrested on suspicion of links to militant group ISIS after a house search in Granada, southern Spain April 16, 2016. REUTERS/Pepe Marin

The Spanish police have detained five people on suspicion of belonging to a terrorist group. Earlier, three other suspects were detained this year on charges of belonging to the same cell.

Investigations revealed that the ISIS affiliates have been trying to establish bases in several European Union countries and form cells to carry out terrorist plots.

The source said that these elements arrived in European countries through illegal immigration networks that use the seaports in southern Spain.

A spokesman for the Spanish police said that the detainees were very dangerous, and they almost acquired automatic weapons, including Kalashnikovs.

The spokesman said that the cell includes a group of Algerian youths, including two ISIS members, who had previously participated in the Syrian war. The agencies monitored their entry to Spain late last year.

Police sources said that following investigations and analysis of documents seized from the first group of suspects, a fourth person of Algerian nationality was arrested, whom they referred to as "Sheikh."

The sources said that the Sheikh entered from southern Spain by the sea with a group of illegal immigrants two months after the arrest of the cell members.

A Spanish security source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Sheikh is responsible for recruiting new jihadist elements.

He was already known to law enforcement after being arrested in Turkey in 2016 while trying to join ISIS in Syria. He was deported to Algeria and sentenced to prison on terrorism charges.

After his release, he visited countries including Malaysia, Tanzania, and from there to the lands south of the Sahara, where he continued to recruit new members.

The source said that he continued to communicate with leading ISIS members and that he is the leader of the cell whose members were arrested.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the Sheikh was surrounded by Algerian youths who had previously been prosecuted for robbing tourists in Barcelona. ​

He persuaded them to join ISIS given his "great influence," and they began to help him recruit elements.



Iran’s President Says Tehran Open to Dialogue with US, Accuses Israel of Assassination Attempt

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting in Ilam, Iran, June 12, 2025. Iran's Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuter
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting in Ilam, Iran, June 12, 2025. Iran's Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuter
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Iran’s President Says Tehran Open to Dialogue with US, Accuses Israel of Assassination Attempt

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting in Ilam, Iran, June 12, 2025. Iran's Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuter
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting in Ilam, Iran, June 12, 2025. Iran's Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuter

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said he believes Iran can resolve its differences with the United States through dialogue, but trust would be an issue after US and Israeli attacks on his country, according to an interview released on Monday.

"I am of the belief that we could very much easily resolve our differences and conflicts with the United States through dialogue and talks," Pezeshkian told conservative US podcaster Tucker Carlson in an interview conducted on Saturday.

The Iranian leader urged US President Donald Trump not to be drawn into war with Iran by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is visiting Washington on Monday for talks at the White House.

"The United States' president, Mr. Trump, he is capable enough to guide the region towards the peace and a brighter future and put Israel in its place. Or get into a pit, an endless pit, or a swamp," Pezeshkian said. "So it is up to the United States president to choose which path."

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said she was not sure if Trump had seen the Iranian president's comments, but agreed he was the right man to move the region towards peace.

Pezeshkian blamed Israel, Iran's arch-enemy, for the collapse of talks that were in place when Israel began its strikes on Iran on June 13, starting a 12-day air war with Israel in which top Iranian commanders and nuclear scientists were killed.

"How are we going to trust the United States again?" Pezeshkian said. "How can we know for sure that in the middle of the talks the Israeli regime will not be given the permission again to attack us?"

Pezeshkian also said that Israel tried to assassinate him.

"They did try, yes," he said. "They acted accordingly, but they failed."

Israel did not immediately respond to the allegation. A senior Israeli military official said last month that Israel killed more than 30 senior security officials and 11 senior nuclear scientists in its attack on to Iran's nuclear sites.

Trump said he expected to discuss Iran and its nuclear ambitions with Netanyahu, praising the US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites as a tremendous success. On Friday, he told reporters that he believed Tehran's nuclear program had been set back permanently, although Iran could restart efforts elsewhere.

Iran has always denied seeking a nuclear weapon.