As new revelations continue to break regarding US military losses during its war on Iran, Tehran has publicly announced the results of a widespread crackdown on agents working on behalf of foreign intelligence agencies. Thousands have been detained in the latest wave of arrests.
The Commander-in-Chief of Iran’s Law Enforcement Command (FARAJA), Ahmadreza Radan, announced earlier this week that the Islamic Republic’s security apparatus had arrested upwards of 6,500 agents since the beginning of the latest US-Israeli attacks; that the official described as “The Third War”.
On Tuesday, Iran’s Intelligence Ministry went on to release a statement that claimed the capture of 19 individuals , who were part of four separate “Takfiri terrorist cells” in the Sistan and Baluchestan Province. The term Takfiri is used to describe Salafist Sunni Muslims, usually linked to ISIS or Al-Qaeda, who believe in a fringe version of the Islamic faith that justifies killing fellow Muslims and others over religious disagreements.
The Iranian government statement, regarding the thwarting of alleged terrorist plots, went on to state that most of those arrested were foreign nationals, and published a video showing a cache of weapons stored at one of the uncovered hideouts. Although the militants were accused of being part of unspecified Takfiri organisations, the Ministry accused them of “operating under the direct guidance of the American-Zionist enemy”.
This comes amidst the US Congress uncovering that 42 US aircraft were lost during its 40 days of operations against the Islamic Republic, a staggering statistic that has triggered backlash in the house over the costly nature of the conflict and its implications on American power projection.
Iran’s judiciary has executed a number of individuals accused of working on behalf of the Israeli Mossad, since the war began on February 28, which has drawn criticism from the United States. For example, Mohammad Masoum Shahi and Hamed Validi were both sentenced to death on charges of operating as part of a Mossad-linked network , planning terrorist attacks and receiving training in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Despite attempts by Iranian opposition groups to deny all of the charges against those who have been handed death sentences and claim that Tehran is killing its own people to silence dissent, as was claimed regarding the Iran riots at the beginning of 2026, some US officials have been transparent about their involvement.
US President Donald Trump not only supported a plan that would involve Kurdish militant groups invading Iran from northern Iraq, but had even voiced dissatisfaction with Kurdish forces keeping weapons that were intended to reach Iranian rioters.
While the death penalty charge, against accused agents of foreign intelligence, has drawn the ire of the mainstream human rights organisations, the statistics are often skewed in the Western corporate media to present an unrealistic picture of events.
For example, in June of 2025 alone the Iranian authorities arrested 700 people on suspicion of working for the Israeli Mossad. That same year, the death penalty statistic hit 1,639 inside of Iran, which was widely cited without the context that only 57 of those executions were carried out on security related charges. While independent verification does not exist to substantiate the claims in each case, the majority of death sentences in Iran are for crimes such as murder, rape and drug related offences.
Earlier this January, during the Iran riots, former CIA director and Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, openly stated on social media “Happy New Year to Iranians and Mossad agents beside them,” which was widely interpreted as an admission of foreign involvement in the unrest.
According to an Israeli Channel 13 report, during the 12-Day War, the Mossad had carried out “ its largest ever mission ” inside of Iran. Using more than 100 “foreign agents”, the Israelis managed to target Iran’s air defences and missile launchers at the beginning of the war.
This enabled Tel Aviv to strike Tehran relentlessly for around 15 hours, prior to there being a response.
Despite an abundance of admissions from former US officials, the American President, and detailed reports by the Israeli media, regarding the pivotal role that agents have played in supporting military operations targeting the Islamic Republic, there remains a refusal from the Western media to admit the consequential role of the Mossad and CIA on the ground.
Meanwhile, Iran’s authorities continue to announce that they have successfully located thousands of agents and militants, in addition to continuing strikes against Kurdish-Iranian opposition groups based in Erbil and elsewhere in northern Iraq. All as the true US military losses during the war thus far, continue to present themselves.
Robert Inlakesh
Robert Inlakesh is a political analyst, journalist and documentary filmmaker currently based in London, UK. He has reported f…
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