Iran Thwarts 24 Terrorist Plots Since March: Official

Wednesday, 22 October 2014

Iran Thwarts 24 Terrorist Plots Since March: Official

Iranian Deputy Interior Minister for Law Enforcement and Security Affairs Brigadier General Hossein Zolfaqari announced on Tuesday that Iranian border guards have thwarted terrorist plots for carrying out 24 suicide attacks on the country since the start of the current (Iranian) year (March 21), FARS news agency reported.

"24 groups have failed in their plots for waging 24 suicide attacks in Iran, thanks to the timely presence of the border guards," Zolfaqari told reporters in Tehran on Tuesday.

"The border guards have even annihilated one or two (terrorist) groups before they could cross border with Iran," he added.

His remarks came after four Iranian police officers, including a conscript, were killed in two terrorist attacks on a border post in the Southeastern province of Sistan and Balouchestan earlier this month.

The tragic event took place in the vicinity of the city of Saravan near the border with Pakistan.

In a separate incident, Commander of the Iranian Border Guards in the Southeastern Province of Sistan and Balouchestan announced on Friday that his forces have killed a large number of outlaws in clashes at the border with Pakistan.

Brigadier General Rohambakhsh Habibi said on Friday that the Zahedan Border Guards Brigade had received tips on the movement of a group of armed militants at the zero point of Iran-Pakistan borders and their intention to infiltrate into the Iranian soil.

In reaction to Pakistan's lax control over its borders, the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Saturday night summoned Pakistan's Ambassador to Tehran Nour Mohammad Jadmani.

At the meeting, the director-general of the West Asia Office of the Iranian Foreign Ministry conveyed the Islamic Republic’s displeasure and official protest to the Pakistani envoy over the recent terrorist attack on Iranian border guards.

The Iranian foreign ministry official said, "It is not acceptable to us that a number of terrorists and outlaws make aggressions against our territories from inside Pakistan and martyr our border guards by attacking them."

"The friendly atmosphere dominating the relations of the two countries shouldn’t be impaired by such problems and officials (in Islamabad) should find a way in order not to allow the enemies to attain their goals," he added.

Jamdani, for his part, expressed regret over the martyrdom and injuring of the Iranian border guards, and said he would convey Tehran’s message to Islamabad to pursue the issue.

Last week, the Iranian interior ministry held Islamabad accountable for the terrorist attacks.

"We don’t expect the Pakistani government (to allow) the terrorist operations will be held against Iran from the Pakistani soil," Interior Ministry Spokesman Hossein Ali Amiri told reporters in Tehran.

He called on the Iranian foreign ministry to take more active measures in contacts with Islamabad to make the Muslim neighboring state in order not to allow their country become a launchpad for terrorist operations against Iran.

Yet, the spokesman said the terrorist attacks did not have any military value as they were only some hit-and-run operations by the terrorists who sneak into Iran from a neighboring state, carry out terrorist operations and then escape to the same country.

Amiri called for Pakistan's serious cooperation in preventing terrorists' infiltration into the Iranian soil, and said, "The Pakistani government should be held accountable for the terrorist operations."

In response, the Pakistani officials asked Iran to provide Islamabad with documents showing that the terrorists had sneaked into Iran through Pakistan's border.

Lieutenant Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Ground Force Brigadier General Abdollah Araqi told reporters in Tehran on Saturday that the IRGC Ground Force has provided the foreign and interior ministries with substantiating proof and evidence on terrorists' infiltration from Pakistan.

In February 2013, Iran and Pakistan signed a security agreement under which both countries are required to cooperate in preventing and combating organized crime, fighting terrorism and countering the activities that pose a threat to the national security of either country.

Iran has repeatedly called on Pakistan to comply with the terms of the agreement.