Calm Restored in Iran after Days of Riots

A number of provinces, including Isfahan, Khuzestan, Fars and Tehran, witnessed the highest volume of violence and destruction of public and private properties by the rioters who misused people’s peaceful rallies to protest at the hike in gasoline prices since Friday.

But after several days, reports from the four provinces now indicate that except for a few cases of sporadic acts of sabotage, they spent last night in lull and full security.

Police and security forces were in large numbers present in sensitive parts of the cities and towns to ensure the establishment of security and tranquility for citizens to continue their everyday life.

In a relevant development in the town of Quds in Tehran on Tuesday night, people gathered to appreciate the security forces and Law Enforcement Police’s efforts to restore calm and gifted them flowers.

Iran’s Judiciary Spokesman Gholam Hossein Esmayeeli had also announced on Tuesday that calm was restored to the country after the recent riots that started following the government’s gas price hike plan.

“Thanks to the Leader’s remarks, efforts by the security and Law Enforcement Police forces and people’s vigilance who separated their path from the ill-wishers and violence-seekers, calm has been restored in the country,” Esmayeelil told reporters in Tehran.

“A large number of saboteurs and rioters and those who set fire at public properties and played a role in the destructions have been identified,” he added.

Riots by a small number who had taken advantage of legitimate public protests against the government’s gas price hike plan in Iran were directed at sowing chaos through targeted attacks on public and private properties, forcing law enforcement to step in to stop saboteurs.

Early estimates of an intelligence body showed that a sum of nearly 87,000 protesters and rioters had taken part in protest rallies and gatherings since Friday night, mostly (over 93%) men. A large number of protesters had only been present in the gathering centers and avoided joining the rioters in sabotage attacks on public and private properties.

“The identical methods of the main core of violent rioters discloses that they are fully trained individuals who have been prepared and looking forward for the situation to rise, unlike most people who have been taken off guard by the sudden hike in gas price,” the report said.

The report showed that gatherings have been comprised of 50 to 1,500 people held in 100 regions of the country out of a number of 1,080 major towns and cities. The report says violent raids and damage inflicted on properties has been larger than what happened in February 2018 unrests.

Most cases of damage to properties had happened in Khuzestan, Tehran, Fars and Kerman provinces. The report says most casualties have resulted from armed outlaws’ attacks on oil storage and military centers, adding that a number of police and popular forces have been martyred in these attacks.

Nearly 1,000 people were arrested across the country while over 100 banks and 57 big stores were set on fire or plundered in just one province.

The Iranian intelligence ministry announced in a statement on Sunday that it had identified several rioters who misused the recent protest rallies against the gasoline price hikes to destroy public and private properties.

“The main culprits behind the riots in the past two days have been identified and proper measures are being adopted and the honorable nation will be informed about its result later,” the statement said.