In a press conference in Milan, the Italian police announced Wednesday morning that two Iranians and five Italians had been arrested overnight on suspicion of supplying military equipment to Tehran in violation of international sanctions. In an operation code-named ‘Sniper’, seven people have been arrested on suspicion of trafficking arms to Iran. The Italian police suspect the Iranians of being members of the Iranian secret services.
According to Agence France Presse (AFP), Armando Spataro, an Italian top anti-terrorist prosecutor, said during a news conference that the operation to track down this group started last year already. He confirmed that the arrested Iranians are working for Iran’s regime.
According to Italian police, the suspects intended to buy and send anti-tank rackets and explosive material for incendiary bombs to Iran. One of the arrested Italians is a lawyer who has been traveling to Iran and negotiating with high-rank military staff over there. Spataro also said there are arrest warrants for two other Iranians, but they are believed to be in Iran.
The two arrested Iranians are Hamid Nejad Masoumi and Homayoun Bakhtiari. Masoumi Nejad is a broadcast journalist who has been working for Iranian state television in Rome for many years already. The profession of Bakhtiari is unknown.