The men apparently entered Iran via the Kurdistan region of Iraq, after undergoing months-long training in preparation for conducting terrorist attacks against sensitive targets in the Iranian region of Isfahan in central Iran.
According to Iranian media, the gang maintained contact with the Israeli Mossad and with their help, succeeded in infiltrating Iran. "They were all arrested while in the process of concealing explosives at their target location," media sources have stated. The official Iranian public relations department added that, "Investigations are ongoing and our intelligence organizations are continuing to monitor any links they had with internal and external elements guiding them in their terrorist operations."
On Saturday, Iranian state media first announced the arrests, saying that, "Members of a network who were in contact with the Mossad succeeded in entering the country via Kurdistan, using operational tools and advanced communications equipment, and armed with powerful explosives. They intended to carry out destructive activities and commit unprecedented acts of terrorism at various critical sites, in operations that were planned in advance."
On Sunday morning, posts on social media that have yet to be substantiated reported that a senior missile engineer was killed in the Iranian city of Shiraz Iran several days ago.
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps engineer Said Thamardar Mutlak was described in alleged funeral announcements as a shahid (martyr). The posts added that Iranian authorities did not want news of the death to be published, and that Mutlak’s family had been warned against revealing what occurred.
