Iran’s Intelligence Ministry said it arrested 21 people in the southeastern province of Kerman over allegations that they were linked to Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. The report, published by Amar Desh Online on August 6, 2026, said the arrests followed a series of intelligence operations in the province.

According to a ministry statement, the detainees allegedly collected information from sensitive and confidential military and defense sites and sent it to Mossad. Iranian authorities described Mossad as a terrorist organization. The source did not include comments from the detainees or independent verification of the allegations.

Mehr News Agency, described in the report as an Iranian semi-official and private news agency, also said intelligence forces identified and arrested four armed criminals in the province. Authorities said they recovered and seized several weapons, ammunition for combat purposes, and hunting ammunition from those arrested. The report cited Al Jazeera and Mehr News as its sources.