Brig. Gen. Ahmad Reza Pourdastan, commander of the Iranian army's ground forces, attended a closed-door session of the Iranian parliament May 24 and warned the members about the Islamic State (IS) threat.
“Today, the terrorist and takfiri forces are near our borders," he said. "A year ago this time, it came down from general staff headquarters that [IS] forces are in Jalawla and Saadiya and their next step would be Khanaqin, and then Iran. The takfiri terrorists of [IS] had recruited supporters and had planned a series of explosions and terrorist activities inside Iran until [IS] forces could reach the borders. However, their plots were unfolded by the Ministry of Intelligence."