Ahmadi-Moghaddam: 318 Cases of Acid Attacks Have Occurred Since the Beginning of This Year

The commander of the Islamic Republic's police force stated that since the beginning of this year, there have been "318 cases of acid attacks," most of which have resulted in the arrest of the perpetrators. However, he noted that so far, "no one" has been arrested in connection with the acid attacks in Isfahan. According to the IRNA news agency, Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam said on Wednesday, November 21, that the incident in Isfahan received media attention due to its scale, while in the first six months of this year, 318 cases of acid attacks on vehicles, objects, and individuals occurred, many of which had "retaliatory and psychological" motives, and "most of the perpetrators" have been arrested. Mr. Ahmadi-Moghaddam stated that "no one" has been arrested in connection with the Isfahan acid attacks. These remarks from the police commander come after he said on October 1 that leads had been obtained regarding the perpetrator of the acid attacks in Isfahan, suggesting that the act was carried out by "one person." Officials from various institutions in the Islamic Republic have made contradictory statements regarding the perpetrator or perpetrators of the serial acid attacks in Isfahan. Abolhassan Heydarpoor, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian Parliament, stated on November 14 that based on the initial assessment of the investigations, the perpetrator of the acid attacks in this city was "only one person" and that he was "on the verge of arrest" and would be apprehended "soon and easily." However, just two days after Mr. Heydarpoor's remarks, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the first deputy of the judiciary, announced that to clarify the dimensions of this case, they must wait, and it cannot yet be definitively stated that the acid attacks were the work of one person. In response to a question about why the facial sketches of the acid attacker are not provided to the media, the police commander said, "The judge must determine whether the facial sketch should be made public." He added, "Perhaps the facial sketch was not at a level that allowed such action, and on the other hand, police methods do not see the need for this." Hossein Ali Amiri, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior, also stated on Wednesday that the security and police deputy of the Ministry of Interior, the judiciary, and the security agencies in Isfahan are "specifically pursuing" the acid attack case, but no leads have yet been found. In response to the question of whether the suspects in the Isfahan acid attack are still in custody, he said, "Investigations into the suspects are ongoing as we have not yet reached complete certainty about the criminals." Shahindokht Molaverdi, Deputy of Hassan Rouhani for Women and Family Affairs, also reported on November 20 that the ministers of intelligence, justice, and interior presented reports in two previous sessions of the cabinet regarding the acid attacks in Isfahan and stated, "Due to the lack of leads regarding the perpetrators of this incident, the investigations have not yet yielded results."