TEHRAN- On the eve of Charshanbeh Suri, an ancient festival observed on the final Wednesday of Iranian calendar year, the Intelligence Ministry has reported the arrest of multiple teams that planned to commit acts of terrorism and sabotage.

Prior to the nationwide celebrations, the Intelligence Ministry released a statement on Monday in which it said many terrorist groups, including a 21-person squad connected to the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) in Tehran, had been discovered and apprehended over the previous days.

“The MKO-linked organization wanted to engage in acts of sabotage, including setting fire to public property, notably buses, in congested locations and destroying private property, as well as tossing homemade explosives.”

The statement said that 300 hand-made grenades and another MKO-affiliated cell were destroyed in Mashhad and that the detainees had also taken part in the riots that had broken out in Iran in September 2022.

The statement added that several explosives and sabotage devices were also uncovered in a western city and a northern province, and that two workshops for producing homemade bombs were also demolished.

The Intelligence Ministry vowed to defend Iranian national security and take swift action against “Zionist terrorism”. However, it urged Iranians to be watchful and report any suspicious activity to the ministry.