Iran warned Russia of security threat before terror attack in Moscow region, Reuters reports
Photo: Terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall (Getty Images)
Iran warned Russia about the possibility of a major terrorist operation on its territory before the attack in Crocus City Hall, according to Reuters.
"Days before the attack in Russia, Tehran shared information with Moscow about a possible big terrorist attack inside Russia that was acquired during interrogations of those arrested in connection with deadly bombings in Iran," one of the sources says.
The second source says that the information Tehran provided to Moscow about the preparation of the attack did not contain specific details about the timing and exact target.
"They (the members of ISIS-K) were instructed to prepare for a significant operation in Russia... One of the terrorists (arrested in Iran) said some members of the group had already traveled to Russia," the source says.
At the same time, a senior security official says "As Iran has been a victim of terror attacks for years, Iranian authorities fulfilled their obligation to alert Moscow based on information acquired from those arrested terrorists."
In January, Iran's Ministry of Intelligence announced that it had arrested 35 people related to the January 3 double bombings in the southeastern city of Kerman that killed approximately 100 people. On January 19, the agency announced that it had arrested one of the commanders of the Islamic State's Afghanistan-based branch, ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K).
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the bombings in Iran, the bloodiest since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. US intelligence sources claim that ISIS-K carried out both the January 3 terrorist attacks in Iran and the shooting in Moscow on March 22.
Terrorist attack in Moscow region
On March 22, several armed men wearing camouflage opened fire at the Crocus City Hall concert hall in Krasnogorsk, Moscow Region. According to the latest Russian data, 143 people died as a result of the attack.
Russian security forces have detained four men who have been identified as the perpetrators of the attack. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin said that they allegedly wanted to escape to Ukraine, where a "window" had been prepared for them. A few days later, Alexander Lukashenko made a statement suggesting that the attackers had originally planned to cross the Russian border with Belarus.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. The United States and many other Western countries confirmed the information about the involvement of ISIS and denied Ukraine's involvement in the events.
Moscow's Basmanny Court arrested four suspects in the attack. They allegedly confessed to committing the attack. The men were brought to the court beaten, one of them was on a gurney accompanied by doctors. They were tortured.
The US State Department believes that Russia is trying to justify the war against Ukraine with the help of a terrorist attack.
