The Iranian regime has claimed to have arrested 12 undercover CIA agents within the Islamic republic. Iran’s state news agency Irna reported Parviz Sorouri, a member of Iran’s parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, as saying that the undercover agents were gathering information on Iran’s security, military and nuclear activities. Former U.S. officials familiar with the region report that the alleged agents were likely from among Iran’s local population and not citizens of the United States. The unraveling of this intelligence operation in Iran mirrors similar actions in the U.S. with regard to Iranian intelligence and adds to the increasingly tense atmosphere in the Middle East.