Iran: Foreign-Backed Riot Leaders Arrested as Security Forces Restore Order Nationwide
By Staff, Agencies
Iranian authorities say security forces have detained more than 100 individuals across several provinces over their alleged role in recent riots, accusing foreign actors, including the United States and “Israel,” of steering economic protests toward violence and instability.
According to reports by Tasnim news agency, police in Lorestan province said coordinated operations involving security, military and intelligence bodies led to the arrest of over 100 suspects linked to riots and acts of insecurity in multiple cities.
Authorities also announced the dismantling of two terrorist cells in Borujerd and Khorramabad, made up of four and seven members respectively, who were armed with firearms and bladed weapons and were planning violent actions.
Police officials praised public cooperation and urged citizens to continue sharing security-related information through emergency police lines and intelligence hotlines run by the Ministry of Intelligence and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards.
In North Khorasan province, a security source said key figures behind unrest in the provincial capital, Bojnourd, had also been arrested. Investigations uncovered direct links between those detained and foreign institutions involved in organizing and directing the riots. The source said the suspects were in contact with intermediaries tied to foreign intelligence services and had coordinated vandalism and disruption.
The same source added that confessions indicated plans to stage fake fatalities and accuse the Islamic Republic of killing young people, arguing that the objective went far beyond peaceful protest and aimed instead at destabilization for political ends. Arrests, the source said, would continue until calm is fully restored.
Separately, Constitutional Council spokesman Hadi Tahan Nazif said foreign interference had transformed legitimate economic grievances into violent unrest. Speaking at a press conference, he offered condolences to those killed during the disturbances, including members of the security forces, and said a Constitutional Council election supervisor was among the victims in Qazvin. Nazif referred to “hidden hands” behind the violence and said these same forces were responsible for the deaths of more than 1,000 Iranians during the 12-day war in June.
Authorities also reported widespread damage to public services. Tehran Fire Department chief Ghodratollah Mohammadi said 43 fire engines were damaged during two days of riots, eight of them completely destroyed. He said firefighters were blocked from responding to emergencies, forced out of vehicles, and targeted by vandals, with one fire station in Tehran attacked, damaged, and looted.
Mohammadi added that 15 fire engines were damaged in Isfahan and five in Ahvaz, noting that replacing the equipment, much of it imported, would be costly and time-consuming. During the unrest, he said, about half of Tehran’s firefighting missions could not be carried out, while daily emergency calls doubled from roughly 3,000 to 6,000.
In Gilan province, Chief Justice Majid Elahian said a courthouse in Rasht was set ablaze, temporarily halting judicial services. He reported that mosques and copies of the Quran were burned, along with dozens of shops, banks, and a clinic, resulting in the deaths of three nurses. Elahian said arrests were continuing and warned that those leading the unrest would face severe punishment, blaming direction and incitement from the United States and “Israel.”
Tasnim also reported that Farajollah Shooshtari, the son of martyred IRG commander Noor Ali Shooshtari, was martyred in what it described as a terrorist attack in Mashhad on Friday night amid the unrest. Shooshtari was known as a cultural and social activist.
