Iran’s Intelligence Ministry claimed on Thursday it has identified and arrested members of four teams of operatives linked to the Israeli Mossad.
In a statement quoted by the Mehr news agency, the Intelligence Ministry announced that “following round-the-clock and rigorous efforts of the intelligence forces, four operative teams affiliated with the Mossad spy agency were identified and all the members were arrested.”
“The Zionist criminal regime, taking advantage of the recent riots over the past weeks in several parts of Iran, intended to conduct several hybrid terrorist operations by directing operative teams, it added, but all the terrorists were arrested before taking any action,” the Iranian ministry claimed.
The ministry also announced that it has “obtained information about a Mossad ringleader in one European country,” saying more details will be given immediately after the completion of the investigation.
Iran regularly claims to have captured individuals who are accused of spying for Israel, and sometimes also for the US.
In July of 2021, Iran claimed its security forces had arrested a network of agents working for Israel and had seized a cache of weapons it said were planned for use during unrest sparked by water shortages.
In August, Iran’s intelligence ministry arrested 12 followers of the banned Bahai faith, accusing them of being “Zionist spies.”
In October, Iran said it arrested a person “spying for the Zionist regime” in the central city of Kerman by the Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence services.
Earlier this week, Iran’s Intelligence Ministry said it uncovered a plot by a Mossad espionage network to gather information from Iranian knowledge-based companies that cooperate with Iran’s defense industries.
Iran has blamed the US and Israel for the ongoing protests that have gripped the country since the September 16 death of 22-year-old Amini after she was arrested by the morality police.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has claimed that the protests inside the country are the work of Israel and the United States.
"This rioting was planned," he said in October. "These riots and insecurities were designed by America and the Zionist regime, and their employees."