The Iranian news agency Fares reported tonight (Thursday) that three “Mossad agents” had been arrested in the southeastern area of Sistan and Baluchestan, following their involvement in disseminating information and confidential documents.
It will be recalled that on March 13, members of the Revolutionary Guards claimed that they had bombed an “Israeli strategic center” in the Kurdistan region, in what they claimed was revenge for the assassination of two officers by Israel. However, the news site al-Sharq Al-Awsat reported earlier this week that an official investigation in Iraq did not yield any findings from which it can be concluded that the Mossad operated in the city.
The news site quoted two Iraqi officials as saying that the investigation into the Iranian bombing did not reveal any evidence of an Israeli presence, despite Iranian statements last month. The two sources, who were quoted anonymously, agreed to say that Iran had informed the authorities in Baghdad and Arbil of an opposition presence in the Kurdistan region, and did not raise any claim about the Mossad’s presence there until after the bombing.
Last November, Turkish authorities claimed to have arrested a network of “15 institutional agents” operating in the country. The group reportedly collected information on Turkish and foreign students for money and on Palestinians living in the country. In addition, Turkish intelligence has been monitoring the network’s agents for a year, surpassing the fact that they are transmitting valuable information to Israel. Agents operated throughout Turkey and met with Mossad field officers.
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The Turkish newspaper Sabah noted that the key figure in the affair, identified as MAS, is a medical student in the city of Konya. Another key suspect mentioned in his report is AB, who is alleged to have been an emissary who transferred funds from the institution to agents in Turkey and information back to its operators. According to the report, all members of the network were of Arab descent, and were operated by an institution agent in Germany, who was described as AZ in the report.