Eurasia Press & News
According to Tehran, five people have been arrested for planning attacks in Iran in cooperation with Israel’s national intelligence service.
The Iranian intelligence organization known by its Persian acronym FARAJA has announced the arrest of five people accused of plotting to carry out attacks inside Iran in cooperation with Israel’s national intelligence service, the Mossad.
In a July 28 statement, FARAJA claimed that the five were associated with an unnamed Iranian “separatist” leader and had received training to commit armed attacks, sabotage activities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic.
FARAJA’s announcement came one day after Iran’s Intelligence Ministry said a Mossad-linked cell had been busted while planning to bomb a sensitive defense industries facility. According to the ministry’s statement, a total of 16 explosives were recovered during the arrest of the individuals, which it identified as Komala “mercenaries” in reference to the exiled Komala opposition group.
The leftist organization, branded by the Islamic Republic as a terrorist group, has been fighting for the independence of Iranian Kurds since the 1979 Islamic revolution. The Intelligence Ministry’s statement noted that the members of the group accused of plotting to bomb the defense facility had been selected by Komala’s leader and introduced to Israeli intelligence agents. It also noted what it called “proxy operations” by Komala members under Israeli orders. The dissident group has not yet reacted to the accusation.
The official Islamic Republic News Agency praised the arrest operation as a “heavy blow to the Mossad” in its intelligence war with Israel.
Iranian authorities to stop blame Israel, which refuses to confirm or deny responsibility, for a string of attacks on Iranian nuclear and military centers. Israel, however, has been vocal in its assertions that Tehran’s progress in nuclear and missile technologies poses a threat to its security.
Such attacks have intensified in recent months, with members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and aerospace scientists gunned down in operations that Tehran has linked to Israel and pledged to retaliate for.
Last week, IRGC commander Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami claimed Iran enjoyed the upper hand in its intelligence war with Israel. “The enemy recognizes that its attacks are reciprocated with multiplied strength,” Salami declared, but added that Iran’s current policy is not to publicize its responses.
