Amid mysterious explosions, Iranian ex-MP claims Mossad behind all attacks

Former head of parliament’s security and foreign affairs committee says no ‘serious thought’ given to how to cope

Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh speaks to reporters on November 3, 2018. (Screenshot: YouTube)
Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh speaks to reporters on November 3, 2018. (Screenshot: YouTube)

A former Iranian lawmaker blamed Israel’s Mossad spy agency for a series of alleged attacks in the country, Iran International TV reported Sunday.

Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh said that “no one has given a serious thought to the problem,” of the attacks in the country, according to the UK-based network.

Falahatpisheh previously headed the parliament’s committee for national security and foreign affairs.

Falahatpisheh also said Israel “is the Islamic Republic’s rival in security and intelligence,” according to the broadcaster, which quoted an interview he gave Sunday to the Etemad newspaper.

Last month, another former minister who served as an adviser to the former president Hassan Rouhani said senior officials in Tehran should be afraid due to the “infiltration” of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, the London-based Persian-language Manoto news site reported.

Former minister of intelligence Ali Younesi said the “authorities of the Islamic Republic should be concerned about their lives; the Mossad has infiltrated various parts of the country,” according to the report.

Ali Younesi, aide to President Hassan Rouhani. (YouTube screenshot)

The statements came amid a number of cyberattacks and mysterious explosions, fires, and mishaps that have plagued the country in recent months.

On Friday, Iran’s railroad system came under cyberattack with hackers posting fake messages about alleged train delays or cancellations on display boards at stations across the country, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

On Monday, an explosion at a state-owned warehouse outside of Tehran caused a major fire at the site. Tehran has yet to provide details on the location and cause of the blast.

Last month, a massive fire broke out at the state-owned Tondgooyan Petrochemical Co. oil refinery, which serves Tehran. A blast was believed to have struck a pipeline for liquefied petroleum gas at the facility. No additional information was provided.

Huge smoke rises up from Tehran’s main oil refinery as a plane approaches Mehrabad airport south of Tehran, Iran, June 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

While many of these have been blamed on foreigners, much is believed to be a result of Iran’s failing infrastructure, which has been hard hit by years of mismanagement and made worse by sanctions.

However, numerous explosions have also been reported over the past few years in complexes vital to Iran’s nuclear program and its energy and military sectors

The most recent such incident was a drone attack last month that reportedly damaged an Iranian nuclear facility in Karaj, said to have been used for assembling centrifuges for uranium enrichment.

AP contributed to this report.

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