TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Iranian intelligence forces have foiled 400 bombing plots hatched by the enemies with the purpose of fomenting riots in the country, the intelligence minister said.
In comments at a televised program on Sunday, Esmaeil Khatib said the enemies waged a hybrid war on the Islamic Republic by pursuing acts of terror and trying to provoke riots in the country.
“We receive many reports saying that they (the enemies) are trying to take advantage of another (wave of) fabricated riots. During this time, we collected about 400 bombs, including more than 40 which were supposed to set off in mourning congregations of the first 10 days of (the lunar calendar month of) Muharram,” he added, Press TV reported.
Foreign-backed riots broke out in Iran last September, when 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini died in a hospital in the capital Tehran, three days after she collapsed at a police station.
The findings of an investigation into her death later attributed the tragic incident to Amini’s pre-existing medical condition, debunking claims that she was beaten by the police.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Khatib said that prior to the riots, the sworn enemies of the Islamic establishment, including separatists, terrorists, and pro-Shah elements, held meetings with over 50 intelligence agencies in different countries and trained 200 media outlets to provoke the riots.
The budget allocated to the 50 intelligence services that are operating against the Islamic Republic is more than Iran’s annual budget, he noted.
He further explained that the main intelligence services acting against Iran are those of Britain, Israel, and the United States, which coordinate and direct the activities of other agencies.
The anti-Iran intelligence services, he continued, have set up a weapons factory near Iran’s border with its products being smuggled into the country.
