Tehran, Dec 27 (IANS): A senior Iranian judicial official has said that 1,261 illegal weapons were discovered and seized in the northwestern province of West Azarbaijan during the "riots" in Iran starting in late September.
The seized armaments include firearms, hunting and insurgency weapons, 62 grenades and 54-kg explosives, such as TNT and C-4, West Azerbaijan's Chief Justice Nasser Atabati said at a meeting held to consider recent "riots" cases in Iran, Xinhua news agency reported, citing semi-official Tasnim news agency.
Such a large amount of illegal weapons indicates that the enemy sought to compromise Iran's security and endanger people's lives and properties during the recent "unrest," Atabati added.
A day earlier, Mohammad Qanbari, the commander of Sistan and Baluchestan Province's police, said his forces had seized 17 illicit weapons and 120 bullets in the southeastern city of Zabol during the past week, according to Tasnim.
A total of 10 individuals were also arrested during the operations in the city, Qanbari added.
Protests have erupted in Iran after 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini died in a Tehran hospital on September 16, a few days after her collapse at a police station. Iran has accused the United States and some other Western countries of "inciting riots and supporting terrorists" in the country.