Iran: Israeli sabotage plot against ballistic missile programme foiled

Iranian security services have claimed to have foiled an Israeli sabotage plot against the country's ballistic missile production and to have arrested several agents involved.

Iran's Deputy Defence Minister Mehdi Farahi claimed that agents had attempted "to put an explosive and undetectable circuit" inside missiles "so that it would explode at a specified time and date", IRNA said.

An unnamed intelligence official of Iran's defence ministry blamed Israel's Mossad spy agency for the alleged plan to sell Iran faulty components that would have blown up the missiles, state media reported on Thursday.

The unnamed official was quoted as saying that the network "planned to sell defective and faulty parts to be used in the production of advanced missiles".

"This network, by trying to sell the faulty parts, intended to convert the missiles into explosive devices to inflict a blow to industrial production lines and employees working in this field," the official reportedly told IRNA.

The official did not say how many agents had been arrested or where they were from.

Shadow war

Iran and Israel have for years been engaged in a shadow war, with Tehran accusing its adversary of a series of sabotage attacks and assassinations targeting its nuclear programme, carried out alongside the United States.

Tehran has also accused Israel of being behind a January drone attack on a defence ministry site in the central province of Isfahan.

The United States and Israel have previously accused Tehran of using drones and missiles to attack US forces and Israel-linked ships in the Gulf.