Intelligence Ministry: Several more arrested over riots
Iran’s Intelligence Ministry in a statement on Wednesday announced its forces have arrested several more terrorist and counter-revolutionary elements following recent riots in the country.
The statement said that security forces have arrested several people involved in inciting violence, killing people, vandalizing public property, disturbing the peace and attacking religious centers during riots erupted following the protests against economic woes across the country, IRNA reported.
It also said that it had confiscated weapons, munitions and explosives from rioters.
Also on Wednesday, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri warned of enemy plots to blame the government for the deaths in recent riots, most of which, he said, occurred in suspicious circumstances, Tasnim News Agency reported.
Speaking to reporters in Tehran, Major General Baqeri denounced US allegations against Iran over the deaths in the recent riots and said the US, which itself is a symbol of oppression of people and has a long record of barbarism and crimes against humanity, has no right to accuse a nation whose officials are elected by the people.
“Certainly, such stances by such a country are quite ridiculous given its record of barbarism, and the whole world knows this,” the commander added.
He further emphasized that in the riots over the past weeks, none of the security forces carried combat weapons to deal with the demonstrators.
Baqeri also said that most cases of the deaths in the riots are suspicious because those killed have been shot from behind and the shootings have taken place in unknown areas.
In late December, peaceful protests over economic problems broke out in a number of Iranian cities, but the demonstrations turned violent when groups of participants, some of them armed, vandalized public property and launched attacks on police stations and government buildings.
Following the unrest, Iranians held several rallies to condemn the riots.