Iranian authorities report arrests of alleged spies during ongoing conflict

Iranian security forces have conducted multiple arrests of individuals accused of espionage amid the ongoing conflict with the United States and Israel. The Revolutionary Guards reported the detention of ten individuals in the Razavi Khorasan province, alleging they collected data on sensitive sites and maintained ties to a royalist group. Simultaneously, the state news agency Fars reported that twenty people were arrested in the West Azerbaijan province. The regional prosecutor, Hossein Majidi, stated these individuals were accused of passing information about military and police installations to Israel. Iranian police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan issued a warning earlier this week, stating that troublemakers would be treated as enemies and could face lethal force. These actions follow the start of a conflict on February 28, which the Iranian government characterizes as a war initiated by the U.S. and Israel. Authorities have called upon the public to report suspicious activities, such as unauthorized photography near infrastructure. International and local sources note these events are part of a series of security crackdowns within the country.