Tehran: Iran said on Tuesday it has arrested
10 people linked to Mossad and that the Islamic republic had
delivered the Israeli spy agency a "severe blow" after deeply
infiltrating it.
Intelligence Minister Heyder Moslehi told reporters
the arrests were the result of covert operations successfully
carried out by the Iranian secret services.
"More than 10 people were arrested... we were able to
identify their (Mossad contacts) and to infiltrate them," the
cleric said.
"We were able to infiltrate the Zionist entity`s
apparatus... we were able to infiltrate deep into Mossad."
Moslehi`s remarks come a day after reports that an
alleged killer of senior Iranian nuclear scientist Masoud Ali
Mohammadi, who was murdered last year, was trained in Israel.
Majid Jamali Fash, identified by Iran as "the main
element" behind Ali Mohammadi`s assassination, was quoted as
saying late yesterday on state television`s website that he
was trained by Israeli military officers.
Jamali Fash said he was briefed about Ali Mohammadi
and "practised bombing in a base near Tel Aviv several times."
Moslehi said Jamali Fash was one of the members of
the group arrested so far and linked to Mossad.
"We are still debriefing the network... and thank
God we were able to give them (Mossad) a severe blow."
In January 2010, Ali Mohammadi, a professor of
particle physics at prestigious Tehran University, was killed
in a bomb attack outside his home which Iran blamed on
"mercenaries" in the pay of Israel and the United States.
Iran has also accused the intelligence services of
Israel, the United States and Britain of being behind bomb
attacks against two top nuclear scientists on November 26.
Majid Shahriari, a senior scientist involved in
Iran`s nuclear activities, was killed by a bomb placed against
his car, while Fereydoon Abbasi Davani, another top nuclear
expert, was wounded in a similar attack.
Western governments suspect Iran`s nuclear
programme masks a drive for an atomic weapons capability, an
ambition Tehran has steadfastly denied.
Israel and its ally the United States have not
ruled out a military strike against Iran to stop its nuclear
programme.
PTI
