Man arrested in Delft, accused of planning terrorist attack in Iran

Dutch police have arrested a man in Delft on suspicion of planning one or more terrorist attacks in Iran, as well as membership of a terrorist organisation.

The man, a 40-year-old Iranian national, is said to be active in the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz, which backs the independence of the oil-rich southwestern region of Ahvaz. The ASMLA is classified as a terrorist organisation by Iran but not by the EU.

Police confiscated telephones and other ‘equipment’ from the man’s home, and also searched his office in Rijswijk, near The Hague, according to a statement from the public prosecution service.

The operation was carried out in conjunction with Danish police and arrests were also made in Denmark, the public prosecution department said.

According to Danish media, three Iranians have been arrested and charged with spying on behalf of Saudi Arabia between 2012 and 2018.

They are also accused of supporting an attack led by the ASMLA on a military parade in September 2018 in which 25 people died.

In 2017, ASMLA leader Ahmad Mola Nissi was shot dead in The Hague.