Iran said Saturday it has arrested the head of a U.S.-based "terrorist group" accused of being behind a deadly 2008 bombing in the southern city of Shiraz and of other, abortive attacks.
The Tondar group's "Jamshid Sharmahd, who was leading armed and sabotage operations inside Iran, is now in the powerful hands" of Iran's security forces, state television said in a report citing a statement from the intelligence ministry.
On Friday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the country will not open talks with the U.S. as it will only benefit President Donald Trump, insisting America's sanctions had failed.
Decades-old tensions between Tehran and Washington have soared in the past year or so, with the sworn enemies twice appearing to come to the brink of war.
The tensions have been building since 2018 when Trump withdrew the United States from a landmark nuclear accord and unilaterally reimposed crippling sanctions.
"There is no doubt that sanctions are a crime," Khamenei said in a televised speech.
