Iran arrests 15 Israeli-linked spies and terrorists
The Iranian Intelligence Ministry has announced that it has recently arrested over a dozen Israeli-linked spies and terrorists.
The Intelligence Ministry issued a statement on Tuesday to provide more details about recent operations by Iranian intelligence forces, in which it said that 15 people, both Iranians and foreigners, have been detained.
On April 10, the Iranian Intelligence Ministry said it busted a major terrorism and sabotage network with links to Israel.
At the time, the ministry said that further details about the number of terrorists, their missions, the equipment seized, and the terrorists’ bases would be released in the future.
The latest statement said that one of the missions of the terrorists was to identify and assassinate one of the country's specialists.
The terrorist group had planned to carry out a terrorist act on February 10, one day before the 22nd of the Iranian calendar month of Bahman (February 11), which marks the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the statement added.
The Intelligence Ministry also said that an Israeli spy base in a neighboring country, which was run by Israel's Mossad spy agency to carry out operations against the interests of Iran, had also been uncovered.
This is not the first time Iran has arrested foreign spies.
On May 30, 2011, members of a CIA espionage and sabotage network were arrested by the Iranian Intelligence Ministry.
On November 24, 2011, Iran announced the arrest of a dozen other CIA spies, who were found to have been on a mission to sabotage the country's nuclear facilities and other important sites.
Another CIA espionage network with 12 members was busted in Iran and Lebanon in cooperation with the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah.
In addition, on December 17, 2011, the Iranian Intelligence Ministry announced the capture of a CIA agent of Iranian descent, foiling an intricate US plot to carry out more espionage activities in the Islamic Republic following the capture of a US spy drone in northeastern Iran.