Man arrested in Delft for planning terrorist attacks in Iran

The police arrested a 40-year-old man from Iran in Delft on Monday on suspicion of preparing an attack and participating a terrorist organization, the police said in a statement. The police started investigating the man in January based on information from intelligence service AIVD that he and others were preparing for one or more terrorist attacks in Iran. 

The suspect is an active member of Iranian resistance movement ASMLA, which is based in the Netherlands and Denmark. According to the police, the ASMLA has an armed branch that carries out attacks in Iran and primarily targets the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and oil and gas fields. "It is not yet possible to criminalize the organization as a whole as a terrorist organization. The investigation into this is ongoing," the police said.

The suspect's home was searched and the police seized phones and data carriers for further investigation. Evidence was also sought at the man's work place in a Rijswijk office building where an ASMLA television station is located, the police said. 

The man is in custody and will be arraigned on Thursday. 

This investigation is being performed in cooperation with the police in Denmark, which also arrested ASMLA members on Monday, the police said.