Spate of arrests in Iran following terrorist attacks

Up to 50 people have been arrested in Iran in connection with terrorist attacks in Tehran last week that left 17 people dead.

According to Iranian authorities, the arrests were made as security forces stepped up efforts to clamp down on suspected terrorists.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the suicide bombings and gun attacks on parliament and the mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini - the Islamic Republic's founder - on Wednesday.

Iran's intelligence minister Mahmoud Alavi said that 43 suspects had been arrested by Satursday night and that operations to identify more “terrorist cells” were under way. The justice department also announced that a further six people “who were certainly connected” to Wednesday’s terrorist attacks had been also been arrested

Iran also said its security forces killed the mastermind of the attacks on Saturday.

"The commander of this terrorist group was based in the border regions, but after the attacks left the country," Alavi was quoted as saying by state broadcaster IRIB on Sunday.

"However, with cooperation of (intelligence) services that are close to Iran, he paid the price of his crimes on Saturday and was killed by Iran's security forces and our friends in the other intelligence services," he said.

Iran's intelligence ministry said on Thursday that five of the gunmen and bombers were Iranian members of Islamic State who had fought in the militants' strongholds in Syria and Iraq.