According to Iran’s judiciary, on 24 October, the Iranian authorities arrested ten individuals linked to Israel’s Mossad in the West Azerbaijan province, over their attempt to carry out sabotage and assassination operations against security personnel.

Iran’s Fars News Agency revealed that the detainees linked to the Mossad reportedly had direct contact with Tel Aviv and were operating in Tehran, West Azerbaijan, and Hormozgan.

The agency further added that the detainees set fire to several Iranian security officials’ private cars and houses and paid sums of money for taking pictures and sending them to Mossad officers.

The detained are currently being interrogated, as security forces claim that they attempted to assassinate several security officials under the orders of the Mossad.

At the start of the month, Iranian authorities announced the capture of an Israeli spy in the Iranian province of Kerman, after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stepped up its security measures following several assassinations of nuclear scientists and Iranian military officials this year.

On 17 October, Malaysian authorities arrested several nationals linked to the Mossad, involved in kidnapping of a Palestinian in Kuala Lumpur.

In September, the Iranian military arrested several suspects tied to the assassination of IRGC colonel Sayyad Khodaei earlier this year.

“Several people have been arrested in the case of the assassination of martyr Khodaei. The necessary legal actions have been issued for them and the case is under investigation,” Iran’s judiciary spokesperson Masoud Setayeshi said during a news conference.

Tasnim news agency reported on 19 October that the Mossad allegedly eliminated six of its own officers for collaboration and ties with Tehran. Anonymous sources were quoted as saying that the killing of their own agents came as a response to the failure of a sabotage operation in the province of Isfahan.