Iran Says It’s Detained Leader of California-Based Exile Group

Iran Says It’s Detained Leader of California-Based Exile Group
Iranian intelligence minister Mahmoud Alavi waves during a campaign meeting in Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 23, 2016. Behrouz Mehri/AFP via Getty Images
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TEHRAN, Iran—Iran on Saturday said it detained an Iranian-American leader of a little-known California-based militant opposition group for allegedly planning a 2008 attack on a mosque that killed 14 people and wounded over 200 others.

Iran’s Intelligence Ministry also alleged Jamshid Sharmahd of the Kingdom Assembly of Iran planned other attacks around the Islamic Republic amid heightened tensions between Tehran and the United States over its collapsing 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.