Iran arrests 31 people in Sirjan over suspected links with the U.S. and Israel

Iranian authorities have arrested at least 31 people in the city of Sirjan, in the southern province of Kerman, on suspicion of working on behalf of the U.S. and Israel to foment unrest in the country, as Al Jazeera reports.

Iranian state television reported that officials dismantled four networks, saying the detainees were also involved in the anti-government protests of January — “setting fire to the governor’s office, destroying banks and government offices” — alongside other charges.

The arrests come at a time of high internal tensions in Iran, as the war with the U.S. and Israel enters its eighth month and Tehran faces a double military and economic pressure.