Iran arrests 5 spies linked to Israel’s Mossad

Iranian police announced yesterday arrested five members of a spy network suspected of working for the Israeli spy agency Mossad.

“The network is made up of five people, including the leader of an opposition separatist group,” Iranian police said in a statement, adding that “the Mossad- linked network planned to collect information on vital and sensitive facilities.”

“The arrested five members of this spy network were given various pledges from [Israel’s] Mossad, including financial promises, to gather information from important areas across the country,” Reuters reported citing the Iranian law enforcement intelligence organisation.

In a related context, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said: “The enemy wants to launch military action against Iran, but it does not dare to do so,” referring to Israel.

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“Our military forces have managed to circumvent the sanctions and completely neutralise their impact,” he said. “We have achieved the greatest progress in the nuclear and military industries, despite the sanctions,” Raisi said, adding that the Iranian armed forces’ presence in regional and international waters is a factor of “security and strength”.

The announcement comes days after the Ministry of Intelligence announced the arrest of a spy network working for Mossad, which was planning to launch terrorist attacks inside the country.

A statement issued by the ministry at the time said members of the cell were in contact with the Mossad through a neighbouring country, and they entered Iran through the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

According to the statement, the network planned to carry out “qualitative” sabotage and terrorist operations in a number of sensitive areas.