Tehran, June 19 (UNI) Eighteen people who worked on the design and assembly of spy and kamikaze drones for Israel have been detained in the city of Mashhad in the northeastern Iranian province of Razavi Khorasan, Iranian news agency Mehr reported on Thursday.
At the same time, the ISNA news agency reported that Iranian intelligence neutralised an organised group of saboteurs working for Israel in the southwestern Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province.
The saboteurs planned to distribute weapons and propaganda leaflets in various Iranian cities, the report added.
Israel launched a large-scale operation against Iran in the early hours on June 13, accusing it of implementing a secret military nuclear program. The Israeli air force carried out several waves of attacks across Iran, including in Tehran, killing several senior Iranian military officials as well as several nuclear scientists. Several nuclear sites, including Natanz and Fordo, were also hit.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the attack a crime and threatened Israel with a "bitter and terrible fate". Tehran retaliated by launching Operation True Promise 3 on the evening of June 13, which hit military targets inside Israel.
Iran denies the military dimension of its nuclear program. The International Atomic Energy Agency has not seen concrete evidence that Iran has an active nuclear weapons program, Director General Rafael Grossi said on June 18.
US intelligence assessments reached a similar conclusion that Iran was not actively pursuing nuclear weapons, CNN reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the issue.
A former UK Ambassador to Uzbekistan, human rights activist Craig Murray told Sputnik that Iran was "extraordinarily responsible and patient" over the last several years, despite Israel's actions.

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