Iran says 13 ISIS affiliates arrested for planning suicide attacks
ISIS’ Khorasan branch has conducted numerous attacks against Iran in recent years, prompting authorities to pursue its members.
Iranian police said on Wednesday that they have dismantled an Islamic State cell plotting suicide attacks across four provinces, marking the latest escalation in Tehran’s campaign against the group and its Khorasan affiliate.
Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Saeed Montazer al-Mahdi said a “13-member terror group affiliated with Daesh” was arrested, using the Arabic-language acronym for ISIS. The arrests were made in the Tehran, Esfahan, Qom and Alborz provinces, and police confiscated suicide belts they said were to be used in suicide attacks and bombings, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
Why it matters: Iranian authorities have been cracking down on ISIS in the past year. In August 2024, Iran announced the arrest of 14 alleged ISIS members throughout the country. State media reported the arrest of three suspected ISIS members in April of that year.
The Islamic State’s Khorasan branch in particular has been linked to ISIS activity in Iran. The branch was founded in 2015 by former fighters from various militant groups, including the Taliban and al-Qaeda, and is based in Afghanistan. ISIS-Khorasan gained notoriety for carrying out the deadly attack on a music venue in Moscow in March of last year, killing more than 140.
