Iranian police said that the defendants were planning a suicide attack on Eid al-Fitr (Reuters - Archive)
Iranian police announced on Saturday that they had arrested a prominent member of the Islamic State and two other members of the organization accused of planning a suicide attack during Eid al-Fitr.
Iranian media reported, citing police, that Muhammad Zakir, known as “Ramesh,” and the two other members were arrested in Karaj, west of the capital, Tehran, following clashes. The police said that they also arrested 8 others who were with them.
The Iranian "IRNA" agency, quoting police spokesman Brigadier General Saeed Muntazar al-Mahdi, reported that 3 gunmen were shot after shooting at their car, and they were arrested.
ISIS claimed responsibility for two bombings in Iran last January that killed nearly 100 people and injured dozens during a memorial held to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, who was killed in Iraq in an American drone attack in 2020.
ISIS said at the time, in a statement on its Telegram channels, that two of its members detonated two explosive belts in a crowd gathered at Soleimani’s grave in the city of Kerman, southeast of the country.
In 2022, the organization claimed responsibility for an attack on a shrine in Iran, killing 15 people.
Previous attacks claimed by ISIS include double bombings in 2017, targeting the Iranian parliament and the shrine of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khomeini.
Source: Iranian press + Reuters