Iran: We Foiled Biggest-Ever Terrorist Plot

'Takfiris' blamed for Ramadan bombing plan
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 20, 2016 5:04 AM CDT
Iran: We Foiled Biggest-Ever Terrorist Plot
Iranian police officers display exercises during "Sacred Defense Week," commemorating the outbreak of war with Iraq in the '80s.   (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iranian intelligence officials have broken up "the biggest terrorist plot" to ever target Tehran and other provinces in the Islamic republic, the country's state television reported on Monday. An anchor on state television read off a statement attributing the information to Iran's Intelligence Ministry, the AP reports. Officials could not be immediately reached for comment to elaborate. Several suspects have been arrested and are under interrogation over the plot after agents seized ammunition and bombs, state TV said. The semi-official Fars News Agency quoted Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, as saying the attack was timed to hit during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The report didn't identify those arrested, though it called them "takfiris," a derogatory term in both Arabic and Farsi referring to Muslims who accuse others of being "nonbelievers." Iranian authorities often refer to ISIS followers as "takfiris," though it isn't clear if this case involved the extremist Sunni group. Shiite power Iran has been helping both the Syrian and the Iraqi government in their battles against ISIS. It has warned of possible militant attacks targeting the country, which largely hasn't seen such attacks since the immediate aftermath of its 1979 Islamic Revolution. (ISIS, fearing spies, is killing dozens of its own followers.)

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