NOVANEWS
Over past four years, the Iranian Intelligence Ministry has arrested over 120 terrorist cells that were plotting attacks in Iran, former Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alawi said Wednesday.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the IRNA news agency, Alawi was addressing the parliament, which is supposed to vote whether he would retake the position in the next cabinet.
Alawi told the lawmakers that the ministry forces also managed to seize almost 6,600 pounds of explosives, as well as 1,000 weapons, bombs and suicide vests.
“During the past four years at the Intelligence Ministry, we took measures to maintain the independence of the ministry, avoided dependence on [political] parties, and did expert work, [as] some of our main strategies,” Alawi said, as quoted by the Tasnim news agency.
He also noted that the Iranian intelligence services had been closely cooperating with security forces.
On Tuesday, the Iranian parliament started sessions to vote on reelected Irainian President Hassan Rouhani’s nominees for the positions in cabinet. If one of the candidates fails to win a vote a confidence in the parliament, the president will have up to three months to offer a replacement.Iran was recently hit by a major terrorist attack. On June 7, a twin terrorist attack in the Iranian capital of Tehran left at least 70 people dead and more than 40 injured. A group of four people in women’s clothing opened fire in the Iranian Parliament building, which was followed by a deadly explosion. Another attack involved an explosion near the Imam Khomeini shrine.
