On 6 December, Iran’s Intelligence Ministry announced that its security forces were able to dismantle several “operational cells” of the Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MEK) in the provinces of Tehran. The group is a designated terrorist organization by the Iranian government.
According to the statement, authorities arrested ten people linked to “terrorist activities” and several attacks against the administration of the Islamic Republic, including military personnel, and members of the police force, while causing damages to residential buildings.
“The members of this network, under the guidance of anti-revolutionary agents living in Germany and the Netherlands, were intending to carry out subversive action by procuring war weapons and acting against national security,” according to the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The IRGC added that the suspects attempted to obtain weapons illegally and intended to carry out “subversive acts.” The weapons include mortars, grenades, and Molotov cocktails.
A day prior, the Iranian security authorities arrested several individuals accused of collaborating with the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, executing four, while three others received lengthy prison sentences.
The IRGC reported that the individuals received payments in cryptocurrency to buy weapons and engage in kidnappings.
In July, Iran claimed to have arrested several other Mossad agents who snuck into Iran through its western border.
The national intelligence chief said that the Israeli agents plan to use weapons for assassination operations.
Last month, Colonel Davoud Jafari, a senior official of the IRGC’s Aerospace Division, was assassinated in Syria. The IRGC placed the blame on Israel for the attack.
A month prior, Iranian authorities arrested suspects linked to the murder of IRGC colonel Sayyad Khodaei earlier this year.
As a result of the increasing frequency of hostile operations against Tehran, the IRGC appointed General Mohammad Kazemi to head the foreign intelligence unit to prevent military leaks, as Iran suspects moles within the government.