Attack by Plainclothes Individuals and Masked People on Motahari in Shiraz

According to the newspaper Shargh, Ali Motahari, a principlist representative from Tehran in the parliament, was assaulted by plainclothes forces at Shiraz Airport on Tuesday, March 9, and was ultimately forced to return to Tehran. Motahari had traveled to Shiraz to give a speech at Shiraz University, but upon his arrival at the airport terminal, a group of 'specific individuals' gathered in front of the entrance and began chanting slogans. According to the state news agency IRNA, these individuals openly and without fear of the law broke the car windows with stones and sticks when Mr. Motahari got into his vehicle. Meanwhile, the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported that these individuals also used 'pepper spray,' which caused respiratory distress for Ali Motahari. According to this news agency, Mr. Motahari suffered 'minor injuries' to his eye. Additionally, the 'Ensaf News' website reported that some of the attackers were riding 'heavy motorcycles,' and some of these individuals had 'masks on their faces.' The 'heavy motorcycles' mentioned by 'Ensaf News' are typically used by military institutions and Basij forces in Iran. According to IRNA, after the attack on Mr. Motahari's vehicle, the driver sped away, but the motorcyclists chased the car, and after a pursuit, the driver eventually entered the 'Gol Sarakh Police Station' in Shiraz. Also, according to ISNA, Mr. Motahari, who insisted that his speech at Shiraz University should not be canceled, went to one of the police stations in Shiraz after the attack and waited there for several hours, but ultimately, at the request of the Fars governorate, the speech was canceled, and Mr. Motahari returned to Tehran. According to the report, the gathering of students waiting for Ali Motahari continued until 8 PM, and they dispersed after hearing the news of Mr. Motahari's return to Tehran and chanting slogans. Previously, Mr. Motahari's requests for the removal of house arrest for Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, two candidates who protested the results of the 2009 presidential election, had repeatedly caused protests from supporters of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. For instance, on Sunday, January 21, an 'attack' by some members of parliament on Ali Motahari, the Tehran representative, and a physical altercation after his repeated request for the removal of house arrest for Mousavi and Karroubi during a speech caused a temporary suspension of the public session of parliament. Meanwhile, Kamaleddin Pir-Mo’azzen, a representative from Ardabil in parliament, condemned the attack on Mr. Motahari and stated: 'Apparently, the predatory behavior of self-righteous extremists and radical groups against free representatives and some government officials knows no bounds.' The website Asr Iran also noted in an article that the attack on Mr. Motahari was a 'message of the show of force by thugs against the police' in the 'new era of police.' On Tuesday, March 9, coinciding with the attack on Mr. Motahari, Hossein Ashtari was appointed as the commander of the police force by the order of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.