Tehran claims it arrested Israeli spy network

Iran yesterday claimed to have uncovered an Israeli spy ring responsible for collecting information about its nuclear facilities.

The announcement was made by Mohammed Ali Jaffari, commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

Jaffari said his forces had seized sophisticated communications equipment and other gear from the alleged spies, and that the spies had confessed to having undergone training in Israel.

The training covered sabotage as well as espionage, he added.

In addition to nuclear facilities, the spies were charged with gathering information on Iranian Army and Revolutionary Guard bases, Jaffari said.

Just last week, Tehran executed an Iranian businessman who had been convicted of spying for Israel; that followed hard on the heels of its announcement that it had nabbed a cell of foreign agents as its members tried to cross the border into Iran from Pakistan. It is not clear whether Jaffari's announcement relates to this cell or a different group.

These Iranian announcements come against the background of a widespread belief among Iran's leadership that Israel will attack its nuclear facilities before Barack Obama takes office as America's president on January 20.