Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib says Iran has recently foiled 400 bombings that were plotted by the enemies in a bid to spark “fabricated riots” across the country.
Speaking during a TV program on Sunday, 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.
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.
Rioters, nonetheless, went on rampage across the country, causing massive material damage to public property and, in some cases, lynching security forces as well as civilians whom they regarded as supporters of the Islamic establishment.
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.
