Iran’s Intelligence Ministry says it has identified and destroyed an integrated network of operatives serving the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) inside the country.

The ministry said on Monday that it captured 17 professional spies working on behalf of the CIA throughout last year.

According to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, the cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and other countries has led to “the disclosure and dismantling of a network of CIA officers, as well as the detention and punishment of several spies.”

In June, Iranian defence employee, Jalal Haji Zwar, who allegedly collaborated with the CIA and spied for the United States, has been executed in Rajaishahr Prison. Jalal Haji Zwar worked as a contractor for the ministry-controlled Aerospace Industries Organization, but was dismissed in 2010.