2nd LD: Iran says thwarts major terrorist plot in Tehran

Iran said Monday that its intelligence services recently thwarted "one of the biggest" terrorist plots targetting Tehran and other cities, Iranian media reported.

"In this criminal plot, the anti-Islamist Takfiri terrorist group had schemed to carry out a series of bombings in different parts of the country, including in Tehran, on the occasions to come," state IRINN TV quoted the Intelligence Ministry as saying in a statement.

A Takfiri is a derogatory term referring to a Muslim who accuses another of apostasy.

"In the operations by the Intelligence Ministry, the terrorists were detained and a number of bombs, ready to explode, and a sizeable amount of materials for making bombs were seized from the terrorists," the statement said.

Further information about the terrorist plot will be announced in the following days as the investigation process advances, it added.

Also on Monday, Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani said that "the Iranian authorities had suspected several people of trying to launch bomb attacks in Tehran."

The plotters, who planned attacks for the holy month of Ramadan, were arrested over the past few days, Shamkhani was quoted as saying by semi-official Fars news agency.

"The capable and experienced security forces of Iran are able to foil any terrorist act in any part of the country," he said.

He said Takfiri terrorist groups seek to sow discord among Muslims. Endit