Iran informed Russia of the possibility of a major “terrorist operation” on its territory before the attack on the Crocus concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

In the March 22 attack, the worst on Russian soil in two decades, multiple gunmen opened fire on concertgoers, killing at least 144 people.

After the attack, the Kremlin launched a “Blame the Ukrainians” type of operation. In political messages and on television, Russia blames Kyiv and refuses to acknowledge the involvement of ISIS in the attack on Moscow. At the same time, according to sources, Putin’s associates do not really believe in Ukraine’s involvement in the terrorist attack in Moscow and are shocked by the failure of the security services.

Iran warned Russia several days before the attack

“A few days after the attack in Russia, Tehran provided Moscow with information about a possible major terrorist attack inside Russia, obtained during the interrogation of those arrested after the deadly explosions in Iran,” one of the sources told Reuters.

In January, Iran’s intelligence ministry said it had arrested 35 people in connection with the January 3 twin bombings in Kerman that killed nearly 100 people. It should be noted that the US also warned Iran before attacking Kerman. Despite this, Tehran accused Israel and the United States of involvement in the twin terrorist attacks.

On January 19, Iran’s intelligence ministry said it had arrested the commander of ISIS-Khorasan, the terrorist group’s Afghan branch. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack in Iran, the deadliest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

• Read also Why is ISIS attacking Moscow? The terrorist group “has focused on Russia for the last two years”

US intelligence sources said ISIS-K carried out attacks on January 3 in Iran and Moscow. Another source told Reuters that the information Tehran provided to Moscow about the imminent attack also did not include details about the exact date or the intended target.

ISIS-K fighters were preparing for a large-scale operation in Russia

“They (ISIL-K members) were trained to prepare for a major operation in Russia. One of the terrorists (arrested in Iran) said that some of the group’s members had already gone to Russia,” a second source told Reuters.

A third source, a senior security official, said that “because Iran has been the target of terrorist attacks for many years, the Iranian authorities fulfilled their obligation to alert Moscow based on the information obtained by the arrested terrorists.”

A source with knowledge of the American information about the imminent attack on Russia said that this information was based on the interception of communications between ISIS-K militants.

Russia refused to confirm the US claims, saying that Ukraine was connected to the attack on Moscow, without providing any evidence. Kyiv resolutely and repeatedly denied this hypothesis.

However, it is more difficult for Russia to ignore information about the attack received from its diplomatic ally Iran, which raises doubts about the effectiveness of Russian intelligence services, Reuters noted.

• How Putin rejected the US warning before the attack on Moscow: “Blackmail, with which they want to intimidate our society”