Esmaeil Khatib said the terrorists, affiliated with Daesh, had entered Iran and were planning to make “harmful and destabilizing moves across the country and in the region during Arbaeen in Iraq”, but they were arrested and their plots were defused.
The intelligence minister, meanwhile, highlighted the country’s intelligence units’ vigilance in confronting foreign terrorists and spies, adding Iran currently holds spies from France, Sweden, England, and many other countries in detention.
On Saturday, commander of IRGC Ground Force Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour said the Islamic Republic Guards Corps (IRGC) neutralized terrorist attempts against religious ceremonies in the country late last month.
The commander said the IRGC dispatched ranger units to border regions and carried out a drone and missile operation to disarm the terrorist groups or force them back to their camps.
Each year millions of Iranians participate in the Arbaeen march to mark the ceremony.
Arbaeen is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world, in which millions of people go to the city of Karbala in Iraq, where the holy shrine of Imam Hossien is located.
