TEHRAN -- Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence says it has identified and arrested 21 mercenaries linked to the Israeli regime’s intelligence service, Mossad, in Kerman Province, along with four members of armed groups involved in riots and criminal activities.
According to a statement issued Thursday, one key collaborator and 20 other individuals connected to Mossad were identified and detained in different cities across the province. 
The main suspect engaged in collecting classified information on sensitive military and air defense facilities and transmitting it to Israeli intelligence.
The remaining 20 individuals were arrested over their activities on social media, with investigations still ongoing, the statement said. Some of them were involved in identifying and providing the coordinates of sensitive security sites in Kerman Province to Israeli intelligence during the war.
Separately, the ministry announced the arrest of four armed individuals involved in criminal and riot-related activities in the province. A number of military-grade and hunting weapons, along with ammunition, were reportedly seized during the operation.
The statement further said that, as part of ongoing efforts against individuals involved in the U.S.-Israeli-backed violent riots in January 2026, authorities recovered four military firearms from five previously detained armed terrorists. The seized weapons have been handed over to the judiciary for further legal proceedings.
Meanwhile, the body of Muhammad Ali Rahimzadeh, a local Kurd who was martyred in a terrorist act by anti-revolutionary elements, was laid to rest following a funeral procession in Iran’s western Kurdish region of Uraman.
Authorities said the attack was carried out by forces affiliated with the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), a Kurdish terrorist group operating along Iran’s western borders.
The funeral ceremony in Uraman and the village of Sarpir was attended by large crowds of residents, officials, and military and police commanders, according to IRNA.

Rahimzadeh was martyred at his home in the early hours of Thursday, authorities said. Local officials, including the governor, Friday prayer leader, IRGC commander, and military and police commanders, attended the ceremony.
Mourners condemned the attack and called for maintaining security and upholding the values of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. Rahimzadeh’s body was buried in his hometown of Sarpir following funeral prayers.