MNA – Iran's Intelligence Ministry says the country's security forces have identified and arrested a group of culprits who were planning to carry out a sinister plot at an Iranian university’s dormitory.

In a statement released on Thursday, the Intelligence Ministry said the agents had identified and arrested members of a corrupt network, who were planning to set a Tehran-based dormitory belonging to Iran’s University of Science and Technology ablaze by damaging the gas hose in the dorm's kitchen and causing an explosion. The plot, however, was foiled thanks to the awareness of the residents and the help of the building’s security personnel.

“Following comprehensive intelligence activities, the elements engaged in the sinister plot have been arrested,” the statement reads.

According to the ministry, the criminals were trying to carry out the plot to provoke unrest and disrupt the events marking Iran’s National Student Day later this week.

The occasion marks the anniversary of the murder of three students of the University of Tehran on December 7, 1953, by Iranian police in the Pahlavi era.

Every year, national demonstrations are organized to honor the occasion.