TEHRAN -- Iran’s Intelligence Ministry announced on Monday that it had dismantled three operational cells belonging to takfiri terrorist groups in Sistan and Baluchestan province, capturing nine terrorists and killing three others during clashes with security forces.
The ministry said in a statement that the cells were “affiliated with the American-Zionist enemy” and were dismantled before they could carry out acts of sabotage or terrorism. Intelligence monitoring and information provided by the public contributed to the operation’s success.
According to the statement, the captured individuals had received training in bomb-making, assassination, and military tactics outside Iran before entering the country. A quantity of weapons and military ammunition was also confiscated.
Separately, police in central Isfahan province seized 75 military pistols, their corresponding magazines, and 74 additional magazines during an operation in Na’in County, provincial police commander Brigadier General Abdolvahhab Hassanvand said.
Hassanvand said officers became suspicious of a pickup truck and ordered its driver to stop. The driver ignored the order and fled, abandoning the vehicle and escaping. Police searched the pickup and found the weapons, he said, adding that authorities would deal firmly with weapons smugglers.
In a separate development, two members of the Basij volunteer force were martyred in an attack on their vehicle in Sistan and Baluchestan province, deputy provincial governor Ali Khalilabadi said. 
The attack occurred in Zahedan County as the vehicle was carrying supplies for local Basij members. The victims were identified as Keivan Ramroudi and Abolfazl Oudi.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ Shahid Hamzeh Seyyed al-Shohada Headquarters also announced the seizure of weapons belonging to “terrorist separatists” during an operation along the border of Oshnavieh County in West Azarbaijan province. Seized data-x-items included six Kalashnikov rifles, 456 rounds of ammunition, and 77 armor-piercing rounds.
The IRGC said the terrorists, acting under the direction of “global hegemonic powers” and the Israeli regime, had intended to use the arms for sabotage operations inside Iran. It warned it would deliver a “regret-inducing response” to any action aimed at sowing insecurity.
In southwestern Iran, police in Shadegan County, Khuzestan province, arrested three individuals for seeking to cause public unrest through cooperation with anti-establishment groups on social media, county police chief Colonel Rouhollah Ashiri said. The suspects were handed over to judicial authorities.