TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) dismantled an arms trafficking gang in Iran’s northwestern province of West Azarbaijan with links to terrorist groups and foreign spy agencies.
In a statement on Wednesday, the IRGC’s Hamzeh Seyyed al-Shohada base said the gang was intercepted by the IRGC forces as it was looking to smuggle arms into the country from the northwestern border.
Nine Heckler & Koch G3 rifles and a large cache of ammunition were seized from their possession, according to the statement.
By providing arms to terrorists and separatist agents inside Iran, the statement noted, the enemy aimed to “disrupt public security,” disseminate fake news about riots and death toll and use the issue for political gains.
The raid on the arms smuggling group comes as terrorist groups have in recent weeks ramped up their activities to undermine the security of the country by hijacking ongoing protests over the death of Mahsa Amini to foment unrest and chaos, Press TV reported.
Protests over the death of Amini erupted first in her native province of Kurdistan and later in several cities, including the capital. Amini fainted at a police station and was pronounced dead days later on September 16 at a Tehran hospital.
Although Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi immediately ordered a thorough investigation into the case, the protests soon turned violent, with rioters fatally attacking policemen and indulging in vandalism against public property in several cities
The foreign-backed violent riots have also claimed dozens of lives from both security forces and ordinary people as the Western media and Persian-language news networks continue to induce riots in Iran.
