Iran Claims Thwarting ‘Terrorist’ Infiltration Ahead of Elections

Ahmad Ali Goudarzi, commander of Iran's border guards, says that a "terrorist group" allegedly planning "sabotage activities" ahead of presidential elections was intercepted trying to cross into Iran through the borders in the southeast.

Iran is scheduled to hold a snap presidential election on June 28 following the sudden death of President Ebrahim Raisi and his companions in a helicopter crash last month.

According to Goudarzi, the border guards engaged in an “intense armed confrontation”, injuring “several terrorists and preventing their entry into the country.”

“A significant cache of weapons and explosives, including C4, gunpowder fuses, electronic detonators, an M16 rifle scope, Kalashnikov and pistol ammunition, US-made hand grenades... and a walkie-talkie were confiscated,” he alleged.

Jaish al-Adl, designated a terrorist organization by Iran and included in the United States' list of foreign terrorist organizations since 2010, is often accused by Iranian officials of being behind similar attacks.

Critics argue that the Islamic Republic leverages such incidents to justify oppressive measures against its citizens, with many Iranians skeptical of the government's claims about its military and intelligence prowess. Iranian security officials often claim foiling terror plots but they rarely produce evidence to hold trials.

In a separate incident on Saturday, Hamed Torkashvand, the head of a Sharia punishment office in Paveh, western Iran, was killed on Saturday. The motive behind Torkashvand's killing remains unclear.

Mehdi Ghannadi, the Public Relations Manager of the Kermanshah Prosecutor's Office disclosed, "Investigations have shown that the assailant had been lying in ambush outside the victim's residence for several hours before the attack."

He added that the perpetrator fired four shots at the Torkashvand's head and chest.