15 Ringleaders of Riots Arrested in Southern Iran

“The intelligence police officers of the town of Mamasani (in Fars province)have  identified and arrested 15 main culprits and provocateurs of the riots in separate operations through technical and specialized measures,” Commander of Fars province’s Law Enforcement Police Brigadier General Roham Bakhsh Habibi said on Saturday.

He added that the arrested individuals were handed over to the judicial authorities and sent to prison after undergoing the necessary legal procedures.

On November 15, the government raised Iran’s extremely cheap gas price in order to moderate the national consumption rate, which stands at 110 million liters per day, 40 million liters above the maximum domestic requirement.

The government also announced a number of aid and subsidiary programs to protect vulnerable households from the adverse effects of the measure.

The price reform, required by Iranian legislature and essential as US-imposed sanctions seek to deplete Iran’s budgetary resources, had been long delayed due to concerns regarding the move’s probable backlash.

The measure’s adoption prompted initially peaceful protests, but riotous elements, abusing the situation, quickly entered the scene, destroying public property, setting ablaze banks and gas stations among other facilities, and opening fire on people and security forces.