TEHRAN – Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ ground force said on Saturday that his forces have dismantled a number of armed-to-the-teeth terrorist cells over the past months following scattered clashes in northwestern and southeastern borders.

According to Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour, most of the cells are equipped in northern Iraq.

“All anti-revolutionary groups lodged in northern Iraq which had been mobilized, armed, and dispatched to Iran were dismantled by IRGC forces,” said Pakpour on Saturday.

Northern Iraq is where the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) rules. Iran sees the hand of Saudis behind the moves in the region.

Early July, the IRGC second-in-command Brigadier General Hossein Salami warned Kurdish officials against loose commitment to security issues, threatening to “carry out operation beyond borders if necessary.”

“I warn the officials of northern Iraq adhere to their commitments as the Islamic Republic will crush threats regardless of geographical considerations.”

The IRGC commander linked the terrorist attempts with some regional countries which seek to trigger insecurity in Iran, recommending them not “play with the lion’s tail.”

Western and eastern borders of Iran have recently been a hotbed for terrorist activities, mainly influenced by weak border monitoring of neighboring countries, including northern Iran.

Only over the past weeks, IRGC combat and intelligence officers had killed dozens of terrorists, seeking sabotage inside the country.

In the most recent one on July 9, an Iranian lawmaker survived an assassination attempt in the western province of Kermanshah, later announced to be a terrorist attack.

Weeks after the attempt, three suspects have been apprehended, Tasnim reported on Saturday.

On June 13, the IRGC announced its forces had killed five members of the Party for Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK) in the northwestern border city of Sardasht.

In another clash in the southern city of Khash on June 13, police forces killed five members of a terrorist group which is an offshoot of Jaish ul-Adl.

Also, on June 28, a top IRGC commander said 11 members of an anti-revolutionary cell had been smashed in Sarvabad County in the western province of Kurdistan.

AK/PA