Iranian authorities have arrested 500 people on espionage charges since the start of attacks by the US and Israel, the country’s police chief said Sunday.

Brigadier General Ahmadreza Radan said the detainees were arrested on suspicion of “spying for the enemy and hostile media,” according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Radan said 250 of those detained “provided intelligence to the London-based broadcaster Iran International, including information about targeted sites.”

The suspects were also linked to armed groups and attempted to disturb public order, he added, describing them as “spies” who leaked information “to the enemy and hostile media outlets.”

The Iranian government designated Iran International TV as a “terrorist organization in 2022,” accusing it of spreading misleading information about anti-government protests in the country and encouraging demonstrators to commit acts of violence, and announced the confiscation of the assets of its staff in Iran.

The arrests come as the US and Israel have continued a joint attack on Iran since Feb. 28, killing around 1,300 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel along with Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries, which it says are targeting US military assets, resulting in casualties and damage to some civilian infrastructure and affecting global markets and aviation.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul