TEHRAN – The Intelligence Ministry says it has foiled a sinister plot to blow up the kitchen of an Iranian university’s dormitory.

Extremist elements were after blowing up a dormitory of Iran University of Science and Technology and killing its residents, the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

The plot, however, was foiled thanks to the awareness of the residents and the help of the building’s security personnel, it added.

“Following comprehensive intelligence activities, the elements engaged in the sinister plot have been arrested,” the statement reads.

The Intelligence Ministry said the criminals were trying to carry out the plot to provoke unrest and disrupt the events marking Iran’s National Student Day, set to be hold on Saturday.

The National Student Day marks the anniversary of the murder of three students of the University of Tehran on December 7, 1953, by Iranian police in the Pahlavi era.

Every year, national demonstrations are organized to honor the occasion.

Earlier this week, the Intelligence Ministry said it had arrested the top members of an anti-Islamic Revolution network who intended to create chaos in universities during the National Student Day ceremonies.

The ministry said the network intended to foment insecurity in Tehran and some other cities.

In the recent protests against partially rationing gasoline and increasing its price, the network intended but failed to incite students of the University of Tehran to disrupt the country’s security, it added.

Sporadic protests erupted in Iran on November 15 after the government announced an increase in the price of gasoline, a subsidized commodity that is still cheaper in Iran than other countries in the world.

Rioters damaged public and private property and put banks, gas stations, and state buildings on fire.

MH/PA