TEHRAN: Iranian security officials say more than 100 people have been arrested in several provinces in connection with recent riots, while senior officials cited foreign involvement, including the United States and Israel, for turning economic protests into violent disturbances.
Police in Lorestan province said security forces, working alongside other military and intelligence bodies, had identified and detained more than 100 people for involvement in riots and acts of insecurity in several cities over recent days, according to reports by the Tasnim news agency.
Lorestan police also said two “terrorist teams,” consisting of four and seven members, had been identified and dismantled in the cities of Borujerd and Khorramabad.
The groups were said to be equipped with firearms and bladed weapons, planning unrest and fatalities in the province.
Police authorities thanked residents for their cooperation and urged citizens to report security-related information through emergency police lines and intelligence hotlines operated by the Ministry of Intelligence and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps.
Separately, a security source in North Khorasan province told Tasnim that key leaders of recent riots in the provincial capital, Bojnourd, had been arrested. The source said the individuals had been identified following investigations into disturbances that occurred in the city.
According to the source, investigations confirmed direct links between those arrested and foreign institutions and organizations involved in directing and organizing riots.
The source said the suspects had maintained contact with intermediaries linked to foreign intelligence services and had coordinated acts of vandalism and disruption.
The source added that confessions by those detained indicated plans to fabricate fatalities and accuse the Islamic Republic of killing young people, saying their goals went beyond peaceful protest and were aimed at creating instability to advance political objectives.
The source said arrests would continue until unrest ended and conditions returned to normal in North Khorasan.
Meanwhile, Constitutional Council spokesman Hadi Tahan Nazif said foreign interference has turned peaceful economic protests into violent riots. Speaking at a press conference, Nazif offered condolences for those killed during the recent disturbances, including members of security forces.
Nazif said one Constitutional Council election supervisor had been killed in Qazvin, citing “hidden hands” being behind the crimes, adding that these forces were responsible for the deaths of more than 1,000 Iranians during the 12-day war in June.
He said that interference by foreign actors transformed legitimate livelihood-related demands into riots, adding that public opinion demands firm action against those responsible.
Authorities also reported extensive damage to emergency services. Tehran Fire Department chief Ghodratollah Mohammadi said that during two days of riots, 43 fire engines had been damaged and eight completely destroyed.
Mohammadi said firefighters were prevented from responding to emergency calls after rioters blocked vehicles, forced crews out, and vandalized fire engines. He said one fire station in Tehran had been attacked, damaged and looted.
He added that 15 fire engines were damaged in Isfahan and five in Ahvaz. Mohammadi said the loss of equipment, much of it imported with foreign currency, would be costly and time-consuming to replace.
He said around half of Tehran’s firefighting missions could not be carried out during the riots, with emergency calls to the fire service doubling from an average of 3,000 per day to about 6,000.
In Gilan province, Chief Justice Majid Elahian said a courthouse in Rasht had been set on fire during unrest, temporarily disrupting judicial services. He said mosques and copies of the Qur’an had been burned, along with dozens of shops, banks and a clinic, resulting in the deaths of three nurses.
Elahian said arrests were ongoing and that those leading the unrest would face severe punishment. He blamed the violence on direction from the United States and Israel.
Tasnim also reported that Farajollah Shooshtari, the son of martyred IRGC commander Noor Ali Shooshtari, was killed a terrorist attack in Mashhad during unrest on Friday night. Shooshtari was described as a cultural and social activist.
