Iran arrests 13 over Tehran bank heist, state media reports

Iranian authorities said Friday they have arrested 13 burglars who cut into the vault of a Tehran state bank from a neighboring building and stole 168 safe deposit boxes.

Tehran Prosecutor Ali Salehi said that three of the thieves were arrested in an undisclosed country abroad, while the rest were apprehended in the capital and Iran's north, the State-run IRNA news agency reported. A car containing stolen property was found abandoned at Imam Khomeini Airport, he added.

State TV showed footage of jewelry, gold coins, and bundles of dollar bills laid out on a long table.

The thieves also allegedly stole surveillance cameras and other monitoring items from the bank, which is located on a major thoroughfare near Tehran University, and within walking distance of a police station.

Bank robberies are rare in theocratic Iran. If convicted, the suspects face lengthy prison sentences.