Iran says has dismantled terror teams on eve of ancient festival

The intelligence ministry issued a statement on Monday, a day ahead of the celebrations across the country.

The statement said that several terrorist teams had been identified and arrested over the past days, including a 21-member group linked to the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) in the capital Tehran.

The MKO-lined group intended to carry out acts of sabotage, including setting fire to public property, particularly buses, in crowded areas and destroying personal property, as well as throwing hand-made grenades, the statement added.

Another MKO-linked group was dismantled in the holy city of Mashhad, while 300 hand-made grenades were discovered, the statement said, adding that the detainees had also participated in the riots that broke out in Iran in September 2022.

According to the statement, a great deal of explosives and equipment used for sabotage acts were also discovered in a western city and a northwestern province, while two workshops used for making hand-made bombs were dismantled as well.

The ministry has promised to protect the security of the Iranian people and act decisively in the face of “Zionist terrorism”, but at the same time called on the Iranians to remain vigilant and report any suspicious case to the ministry.