Iranian security forces have dismantled an operative cell affiliated with the terrorist Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) in northern Iran.

Following an elaborate intelligence operation, security forces identified the members of a cell that had acted against the security of Amol, Mazandaran, an Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) regional commander told reporters on Sunday.

Colonel Abedin Daghmechi said members of the dismantled group were detained before they could act on a plot to carry out operations in “sensitive” sites in the city.

They had also been in contact with MKO-associated media to create inflammatory content and make calls to action as part of a broader campaign to fuel the flames of recent riots in Iran, he noted.

Additionally, the terrorists were found to have made explosives to engage in acts of sabotage and destroy public and private properties, the commander added.

The MKO terrorist group is responsible for the deaths of more than 17,000 Iranians, who have been killed in countless acts of terror since the 1979 victory of the Islamic Revolution.

Currently based in Albania, the MKO enjoys the freedom of activity after being delisted as a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States in 2009 and 2012, respectively.