Iran arrests MKO agents on mission to sabotage election

Iran security forces have arrested a number of people linked to the terrorist Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) on mission to cause turmoil during the upcoming presidential election, a security official says.

“Following the identification of active members of several groups linked to the MKO grouplet, several simultaneous sting operations were conducted in Tehran and several other cities and serious blows were dealt to those groups,” the unnamed security official said on Friday.

Despite using alias names and titles, most of the identified groups had history of association with the MKO grouplet and many of the arrestees had been previously jailed for similar activities.

Two of the arrestees had recently entered Iran with the aim of instructing their agents inside the country on how to cause turmoil during election, the source said.

The MKO organization is responsible for numerous acts of violence against Iranian civilians and government officials.

Out of the 17,000 Iranians killed in terrorist attacks since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, some 12,000 have fallen victim to the acts of terror carried out by the MKO.

Iran’s eleventh presidential election will be held on June 14, 2013.

The Islamic Republic’s president is elected for a four-year term and candidates must be vetted for their qualifications by the Guardian Council.