Mahmoud Alavi said the ringleader of the terror group Tondar was arrested by Intelligence Ministry agents.
“The reason why they first denied [that he was arrested inside Iran] was that they knew he was strongly supported by American and Israeli [spy] services, and they believed it would be unlikely for Iran to be able to penetrate the umbrella support provided by the intelligence services of the US and the Zionist regime [of Israel] and lead this person using a complex program and finally capture him inside the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the minister said.
He said the royalist movement led by Sharmahd was one of few royalist movements which was very violent and was trying to prove itself by carrying out terrorist operations.
“Jamshid Sharmahd and his associates conducted around 27 acts of terror all of which were thwarted thanks to the perseverance, vigilance and knowledge of Iranian intelligence agents,” said the minister.
“Once, when some individuals threatened in a phone call to catch him (Sharmahd), he said in response that his seat was on the sixth floor of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; he meant they were not able to arrest him,” said the minister.
Alavi said the person who regarded himself as having a seat at the FBI is now in the hands of Iranian intelligence agents.