Iran's security services arrested a “spy” cell composed of five people accused of smuggling Starlink satellite internet equipment in the city of Zahedan.
They accused a prominent advisor to reformist leader Mir Hossein Mousavi and the opposition organization Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MEK) of orchestrating the operation.
The agency described the five detainees as members of a spy organization cooperating with the Mujahideen-e-Khalq of Iran, the most prominent Iranian opposition faction abroad.
It accused a foreign "intelligence agency" of being behind this.
A few days ago, on the first anniversary of “Bloody Friday'', Iranian authorities launched a security campaign in the Sunni-majority Balochistan province. Bloody Friday, on September 30 last year, saw more than 100 demonstrators killed.
Back then, the authorities cut off the Internet in Zahedan. The local "Haalvsh" website said that the authorities arrested 216 people, including 32 children, noting that the identities of 110 detainees had been confirmed.
Tasnim news agency quoted "reliable sources" that a foreign intelligence agency sent some of its members several communication devices and Starlink equipment to bring back chaos in Zahedan.
The agency referred to what it said was a “large-scale” plan to create chaos on the anniversary of the Zahedan unrest, noting that after all the schemes failed, the agency is trying to revive the members of the "failed project."
Tasnim did not provide details or pictures of the equipment that was confiscated, nor did it mention the identity of the detainees or their place of detention.
Last month, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk revealed that he received an Iranian warning after he promised to activate the firm's satellite internet service and provide satellite broadband services to Iranians.
The news agency accused Ardeshir Amir Arjomand, a senior advisor to Mousavi, who has been residing in Paris since the Green Movement protests against the presidential elections 2009.
It is not the first time that Iranian authorities have accused an ally of Mousavi.
Last February, the Mizan Agency, affiliated with the Iranian judiciary, quoted a "security official" that Mousavi had come "under the umbrella of the opposition Mujahideen-e-Khalq."
The opposition leader proposed a constitutional referendum, and in response, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said that they were trying to raise issues such as generational differences in Iran and called on Iranian officials for "unity."
The security official said that Mousavi's statement followed direct instructions from MEK.
For 13 years, the Iranian authorities have imposed house arrest on Mousavi, his wife, Zahra Rahnavard, and his ally, Mehdi Karroubi, after calling on their supporters to protest the election results during which former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won a second term.
Mousavi's wife issued a statement a few days ago announcing that the authorities had allowed her to shop for vegetables or visit holy places, but she rejected the proposal.
She wrote in the statement: "My freedom depends on Iran's freedom."
A video circulated on social media showing a banner of Mousavi's image on one of Tehran's highways, offering support to the reformist leader.
A total of 570 political activists inside Iran issued a statement last week warning of the "gradual death" of Mousavi, his wife, and Karoubi as their house arrest continues.
