A lawmaker said terror suspects recently arrested by the security forces have revealed “valuable” information as to the patronage they received from Saudi Arabia.
Alaeddin Boroujerdi, chairman of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, made the remarks in a talk with Lebanon’s Al-Ahed news website published on Monday.
“Al Saud [the Saudi royal family] resorts to all means in the world and the region against the Islamic Republic and, toward that end, helps terrorist groups target the Iranian nation.”
“Terrorists arrested in Iran have provided valuable information to security authorities regarding the Saudi role and its support for terrorist groups,” the lawmaker said. No further details about the detainees, names, date and place of arrest and nationalities were available.
Iran and Saudi Arabia do not have diplomatic ties after the kingdoms’ embassy in Tehran was attacked by a hardline group in January.
Iranian forces have, over the past months, engaged in clashes with terror groups, foiling their plots in the border regions and inside the country, arresting a number of them and confiscating large amounts of explosives and bomb-making materials.
Back in June, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps said members of a terrorist group captured in the city of Khash in Sistan and Baluchestan Province had admitted to US and Saudi support.
Lieutenant General Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the IRGC’s Ground Forces, said at the time that Washington and Riyadh were attempting to organize and prop up terror outfits and counterrevolutionary elements in Iran.
Matter of National Interest
Boroujerdi also spoke about Russian warplanes’ flying from Iran’s Nojeh Air B
ase for logistical purposes aimed at reinforcing Moscow’s operations over Syria.
“There are joint operations rooms [coordinating defense cooperation] among Iran, Russia, Syria and Iraq both in Damascus and Baghdad,” he said, adding, “But when we felt we needed to take bigger steps to strike terrorists, we agreed to provide some support like refueling the Russian warplanes at the Nojeh [near the western city of Hamedan].”
In mid-August, Russian long-range strategic bombers were allowed for several days to refuel at Nojeh before hitting targets in Syria, where Russia has been bombing militant positions since September 2015.
“Iran took this decision based on its national interests and national security and to support the resistance front, which is today fighting terrorism [in Syria],” Boroujerdi said, referring to the Syrian military and Lebanese resistance fighters engaging terror outfits and mercenaries in the war-ravaged Arab country.
The Syrian military has been fighting a foreign-backed militancy since 2011.
