Iranian demonstrators wave their national flag during a march in Iran’s holy city of Qom (AFP)

State-run Iranian news agency IRNA cited an informed source as saying that Mahsa Amini's father is not in detention, pointing to fake news circulated by Iranian opposition media outlets on the anniversary of Amini's death.

The source told the agency that Amini’s father has not been detained and is at home living his normal life, affirming that what the opposition media is promoting about his arrest is fake news.

Foreign and opposition media are seeking to confuse public opinion by circulating fake news, the source added.

A couple of days ago, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi confirmed, in an exclusive interview for NBC News' Lester Holt, that the unrest (that broke out after Amini's death) was fueled by US and European forces, pointing out that the West exploited Amini's case to launch wars on Iran.

Responding to human rights reports claiming Iran "seeks to silence activists before the first anniversary of Amini’s death," Raisi reiterated that the Iranian government is ready to listen to real protesters but will not tolerate attempts to destabilize the country.

Earlier on Saturday, Iranian media reported that Iran's security forces apprehended several individuals involved in a plot to target people during an unauthorized gathering in Saqqez, a town located in the western province of Kurdistan in Iran.

The terrorist cell was composed of four members in possession of firearms, knives, and Iranian security personnel uniforms, the media reports indicated.

Iranian news agencies pointed out that the uncovering of Iranian military uniforms indicates that the terrorists had conspired to open fire on civilians and then falsely implicate Iranian law enforcement in the act.

On Thursday, the intelligence of the Quds Force, affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), in Gilan Governorate, northern Iran, announced the dismantling of a network consisting of 25 members who intended to stage riots and organize sabotage operations in the country.

In August, IRGC commander Major General Hossein Salami warned against the adversary's scheme to incite unrest in Iran on the anniversary of the protests that erupted in September 2022 following Amini's death.

The Iranian Ministry of Security was also able, through intelligence surveillance, to arrest three leaders of anti-Iran groups abroad.

This comes on the first anniversary of the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, whose death sparked Western-backed, funded riots and armed insurgencies in Iran, with incitement also coming from Western media outlets with the aim of undermining the nation.

Anti-Iran rioters claim Amini died after she was beaten under police custody for an alleged breach of the country's dress code for women. However, Iran's Legal Medicine Organization has confirmed that her cause of death was from complications she endured as a result of a craniopharyngioma surgery at the age of eight.