Iran busts terror cell linked to Israel

Tehran, April 10 (IANS) Iran Tuesday said it has busted a terrorist cell linked to Israel and arrested a number of its members.

The intelligence ministry said "one of the terror and sabotage cells of Israel and a number of its protected cores were identified and a group of criminal terrorists were arrested", Xinhua quoted Mehr news agency as saying.

"A chain of operations, conducted in the bordering and central provinces of the country, led to the arrest of the terrorists linked to the Zionist regime," the report said.

Some operational teams were dismantled and arrested "while they were preparing for terrorist acts" inside Iran, the ministry said.

A number of "heavy bombs" ready to be blasted, different kinds of machine guns and military and communication equipment were seized from the terrorists, the report said.

Iran has in the past accused Israel of carrying out intelligence work inside the country and even killing Iranian scientists.

Israel and the West accuse Iran of making weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear programme. Iran denies the charges, saying the nuclear activities were for peaceful purposes.