Iran claims it has detained alleged US-based opposition leader Jamshid Sharmahd over a bomb attack which killed 14 people.
Iranian intelligence services said on Saturday it had detained a leader of a pro-monarchist group whom it accused of being behind a deadly 2008 bombing and of plotting other attacks.
An intelligence ministry statement cited by state television did not say how, where or when the detention took place.
“Jamshid Sharmahd, the ringleader of the terrorist Tondar (Thunder) group, who directed armed and terrorist acts in Iran from America, was arrested following a complicated operation, and is now in (our agents') powerful hands,” it said.
Its state television showed a video of a man identifying himself as Mr Sharmahd and giving his date of birth.
The man was later shown with a blindfold, saying: "They needed explosives and we provided it."
Hamid Baeidinejad, Iran's ambassador to Britain, said on Twitter that Mr Sharmahd "is in custody in Iran".
Tondar did not confirm the detention.
The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Based in Los Angeles, the Kingdom Assembly of Iran, also known as Tondar, says it seeks to restore the Iranian monarchy that was overthrown by the 1979 Islamic revolution.
It runs pro-Iranian opposition radio and television stations abroad.
According to the group’s website, Mr Sharmahd is an electronics engineer who was born in 1955.
The website said he is Iranian-German and lived in Germany before moving to Los Angeles in 2003.
No comment was immediately available from the German foreign ministry.
The Iranian ministry statement said Mr Sharmahd had planned and directed an explosion at a religious center in the southern city of Shiraz in 2008 that killed 14 people and wounded 215.
It said Iranian intelligence aborted several other plots in more recent years, including blowing up the shrine of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. It did not say when the alleged plot was aborted.
It said further details of Mr Sharmahd's detention would be announced later.
The Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement the United States "must be held accountable for backing this terrorist group and other groups and criminals responsible for sabotage, armed and terrorist operations ...from within the United States and shedding the blood of Iranian citizens."
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Scoreline
Liverpool 3
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Bournemouth 0
Profile
Company: Libra Project
Based: Masdar City, ADGM, London and Delaware
Launch year: 2017
Size: A team of 12 with six employed full-time
Sector: Renewable energy
Funding: $500,000 in Series A funding from family and friends in 2018. A Series B round looking to raise $1.5m is now live.
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
MATCH INFO
Europa League final
Who: Marseille v Atletico Madrid
Where: Parc OL, Lyon, France
When: Wednesday, 10.45pm kick off (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt
Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure
Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers
Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels
Profile
Name: Carzaty
Founders: Marwan Chaar and Hassan Jaffar
Launched: 2017
Employees: 22
Based: Dubai and Muscat
Sector: Automobile retail
Funding to date: $5.5 million
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