Iran Arrests 12 People Linked to Overseas Agents 

Iran's riot police forces stand in Tehran Bazaar, in Tehran, Iran December 5, 2022. (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
Iran's riot police forces stand in Tehran Bazaar, in Tehran, Iran December 5, 2022. (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
TT
20

Iran Arrests 12 People Linked to Overseas Agents 

Iran's riot police forces stand in Tehran Bazaar, in Tehran, Iran December 5, 2022. (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
Iran's riot police forces stand in Tehran Bazaar, in Tehran, Iran December 5, 2022. (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Tuesday arrested 12 people accused of being linked to overseas agents and planning "subversive action", the elite force said in a statement, according to state media. 

"The members of this network, under the guidance of anti-revolutionary agents living in Germany and the Netherlands, were intending to carry out subversive action by procuring war weapons and acting against national security," the Revolutionary Guards' statement read. 

The statement did not specify the nationality of the individuals or give any other details. 

Since the death of Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini on Sept. 16 in police custody, Iran has been gripped by nationwide protests that pose one of the biggest challenges to the republic since its establishment in 1979. 

Tehran has accused Western intelligence services of fomenting the protests and seeking to instigate civil war in Iran. 



PKK Disarmament to Take a Few Months in Iraq, Türkiye Ruling Party Says

Türkiye's European Union Affairs Minister Omer Celik speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Turkish Embassy in London, Britain, September, 14, 2017. REUTERS/Will Russell/File photo
Türkiye's European Union Affairs Minister Omer Celik speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Turkish Embassy in London, Britain, September, 14, 2017. REUTERS/Will Russell/File photo
TT
20

PKK Disarmament to Take a Few Months in Iraq, Türkiye Ruling Party Says

Türkiye's European Union Affairs Minister Omer Celik speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Turkish Embassy in London, Britain, September, 14, 2017. REUTERS/Will Russell/File photo
Türkiye's European Union Affairs Minister Omer Celik speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Turkish Embassy in London, Britain, September, 14, 2017. REUTERS/Will Russell/File photo

The handover of weapons by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Iraq, following its decision to disband, should be completed within a few months, a spokeperson for Türkiye's ruling AK Party said late on Wednesday.

Speaking to broadcaster NTV, Omer Celik said a confirmation mechanism, including officials from Turkish intelligence and the armed forces, will oversee the handover process.

"The disarmament ... process (in Iraq) needs to be completed within three to five months... If it exceeds this period, it will become vulnerable to provocations," Celik said on NTV, Reuters reported.

The PKK, which has been locked in a bloody conflict with the Turkish state for more than four decades, decided in May to disband and end its armed struggle.

PKK militants are set to begin handing over weapons in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah on Friday as part of the peace process with Türkiye.

Since the PKK launched its insurgency against Türkiye in 1984 - originally with the aim of creating an independent Kurdish state - the conflict has killed more than 40,000 people, imposed a huge economic burden and fuelled social tensions.