Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said on Monday that security forces and local residents near the Iranian-Iraqi border are on high alert in the face of terrorist threats.
He made the remarks on the sidelines of a ministry gathering in Tehran, adding, "Security forces are vigilantly monitoring border points," IRNA reported.
Rahmani Fazli also described as baseless the rumors about recruitment efforts by the Islamic State (also known as ISIL) in Iran, adding a number of Afghan and Pakistani nationals have been arrested while attempting to pass through Iran to join IS terrorists.
The minister said, "There have been reports of attempts by some Afghan and Pakistani nationals trying to join the group using Iranian soil."
He added, "Some (Afghan and Pakistani) people's attempts to cross the Iranian borders were prevented and some people were arrested."
The IS group is not recruiting forces within the Iranian borders, adding he does not deny the possibility of a publicity campaign by the IS on websites.
The head of the State Security Council reiterated that no threat is posed to Iran by the IS from within the country due to the vigilance of local residents in border areas.
He said despite the fact that the IS terrorist group has inflicted great damage on the Iraqi nation, they have failed to succeed and are about to retreat from the areas they have seized.
