TEHRAN – The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Guards Corps (IRGC) has confiscated large quantities of anti-security items from “anti-revolutionary groups”, a term the military uses to describe anti-Iran elements funded by Israel or the West.

The haul was seized by the IRGC’s ground forces while being smuggled into Iran across a border area in the city of Urmia in the northwestern West Azerbaijan Province.

The haul contains large quantities of explosives, weapons and ammunitions which terrorists were trying to smuggle into the heart of the country and use to foment unrest, according to a statement by the IRGC.

This comes as the IRGC recently dismantled a terrorist team in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan.

In a statement, the Quds Base of the IRGC’s Ground Force announced that several members of a terror cell affiliated with the Ansar al-Shaitan terrorist group were identified and apprehended following intelligence operations. Two suicides vests were also seized from the terrorists, the statement added.

Sistan and Baluchestan province, bordering Pakistan, has faced frequent terrorist attacks targeting both civilians and security forces in recent years.

Terrorist groups carrying out attacks on Iranian interests in the southeastern and southwestern parts of the country are thought to have ties to foreign intelligence agencies.

On October 26 last year, a terrorist attack in the Gohar Kuh district of Taftan County claimed the lives of 10 members of Iran's law enforcement forces.

The so-called Jaish al-Adl terrorist group took responsibility for the attack, which is marked as one of the deadliest incidents in the province in recent months.

The group has conducted numerous terrorist attacks across Iran, primarily focusing on the Sistan and Baluchestan region. Its methods include abducting border guards and launching assaults on civilians and police stations, aiming to incite chaos and unrest.

Significant efforts have been poured into activating terrorist elements along Iran’s western borders, most of which have failed so far. Iran is ramping up cooperation with Pakistani intelligence and military to curb terrorism on the eastern front.