TEHRAN - Iran’s security forces have arrested a team linked to terrorist groups that had plotted to open fire at people in an illegal gathering in the western province of Kurdistan on the first anniversary of last year’s foreign-back riots.

The terrorists had entered Iran from Iraq's Kurdistan region and sought to carry out the shooting attack in the city of Saqqez on Saturday, Tasnim reported.

The security forces thwarted the plot and arrested four individuals.

Weapons and equipment, including Kalashnikov rifles, handguns, hunting shotguns, two sets of Iranian military force uniforms, and a number of cold weapons were also confiscated from the terrorists, according to Press TV.

The discovery of Iranian military forces' uniforms shows that the terrorists had hatched a plot to shoot at the people and accuse the Iranian law enforcement forces of a criminal act.

Terrorist groups based in Iraq’s Kurdistan region have staged several attacks inside Iran concurrent with the 2022 riots in the country.

Last month, IRGC chief Major General Hossein Salami warned of a new plot by enemies to stir unrest in the country on the anniversary of the riots that broke out following the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman of Kurdish descent.

The 22-year-old Amini died in hospital in Tehran on September 16, 2022, three days after she fainted at a morality police station.

Despite clarifications on the circumstances surrounding her death, protests erupted in the country, which later turned violent and led to attacks on security officers and acts of vandalism against public property as well as police vehicles and ambulances.

The foreign-backed violent riots claimed dozens of lives from both security forces and innocent people as the Western media and Persian-language news networks continued to instigate unrest in Iran.

“The enemy intends to sow sedition once again on the anniversary” of the riots that broke out in September last year, Salami said.

However, he emphasized that the Iranian nation's preparedness and vigilance would thwart any such attempts, saying preventive measures are the best strategy to foil the enemy's scheme.