Iran’s Intelligence Ministry announced on Monday that it has arrested a “broad Zionist terrorist network” possessing 43 bombs, intending to carry out attacks on religious ceremonies in five provinces, according to state media.
Government-run agency Mehr cited a statement from the Intelligence Ministry, reporting the arrests of members of a “Zionist terrorist organization” in the provinces of Tehran, Kerman, Isfahan, Kurdistan, and Mazandaran.
The announcement of these arrests comes as Iranian authorities take strict security measures in anticipation of the first anniversary of the death of the young woman, Mahsa Amini, in September of 2022, which led to widespread anti-government protests.
Tehran blamed Western countries for the unrest.
The five provinces mentioned by the Iranian Intelligence Ministry were significant hotspots for the protests.
The statement claimed that “members of this network are linked to the intelligence apparatus of the Zionist entity through terrorist centers present in Denmark and the Netherlands.”
Israel was accused of providing financial and logistical assistance to the network, which was “planning to carry out several terrorist operations in the mentioned provinces,” including an explosion at a cemetery where Qasem Soleimani, the former head of foreign operations in the Revolutionary Guard, was buried after being killed in a US airstrike near Baghdad International Airport at the beginning of 2020.
The Iranian intelligence statement also referred to other plans, such as targeting public gatherings, fuel stations, and the detonation of power towers and gas stations “with the aim of disrupting internal needs and exports.”
Without providing evidence, the Iranian statement claimed that the security forces had seized 43 highly destructive bombs equipped with remote control systems, including 20 handheld bombs.
The Iranian statement also pointed to a long list of seized items, including “explosive metal materials, detonators, various types of industrial chemicals, electronic components, remote control devices, detonation fuses, handguns, shotguns, bladed weapons, and tools used in rioting.”
