Tehran: Iranian minister of intelligence, Esmail Khatib said that terrorist organisations and hostile states were planning nefarious plots against the Islamic Republic of Iran and the West Asia region.
On Saturday, August 19, while speaking at the 24th Supreme Assembly of Commanders of the Guards Corps (IRG) he said that 200 Daesh militants entered the nation to carry out destabilising activities during the Arba’een ceremonies in Iran, neighbouring Iraq, and the surrounding areas.
According to him, the majority of the malicious missions were dismantled in recent counterterrorism operations and arrests by Iranian security services.
Khatib also emphasised the collaboration between the Intelligence Ministry and the Islamic Revolution IRGC Intelligence Organization in the fight against terrorism and separatist groups.
Arbaeen, a Shia religious observance brings millions of people together across the globe who walk an 80-kilometre distance between the revered Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala.
According to a government official in Iran, a record-breaking three million Iranian pilgrims attended the annual Arba’een celebrations in neighbouring Iraq last year 2022, breaking previous records.
During the Battle of Karbala in southern Iraq in 680 AD, the Prophet’s grandson Imam Hussain and his 72 companions were killed while fending off the far larger army of the oppressive Umayyad king Yazid at the time.
‘Spies from Europe arrested in Iran’
During the event, Khatib also said the Intelligence Ministry of Iran has captured spies from Sweden, France and Britain, adding that a number of them have been executed so far despite foreign pressures.
Iran’s intelligence minister claimed, “Today, the country’s intelligence organizations are so strong that they have arrested spies from France, Sweden, the UK, and many other countries.”
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