Iran says arrests 10 in major terrorist plot

Iran's Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said on Tuesday the intelligence services of the country arrested 10 Takfiri terrorists who intended to target the capital and other cities in the country, official IRNA news agency reported.

The terrorists were arrested in Tehran and three other provinces of Iran over the past six days, from June 15 to 20, Alavi was quoted as saying.

Iran said on Monday its intelligence services thwarted "one of the biggest" terrorist plots targeting Tehran and other cities.

"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 on Monday.

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

Alavai said Tuesday that "the operations planed by the terrorists included bombing, distant explosion, suicide attacking, and car explosion on the crowded areas of the cities."

They had identified 50 locations for carrying out the explosions, he said, adding that however, before any evil action, they were all arrested by Iran's intelligence agents.

"So far, some 100 kilograms of explosives have been seized," he said.

The Iranian minister urged the people to report any suspicious move in the society to the Intelligence Ministry's News Bureau through the telephone number of 113 inside the country. Endit