Critics' Perspective on the Kerman Incident: Focus on Security Instead of Women's Hijabs

A political activist in Iran believes that the Kerman incident is the result of negligence by the Ministry of Interior and security officials, who have become preoccupied with women's hijabs and the confiscation of vehicles instead of ensuring security. Mohammad Javad Haqshenas referred to this as 'neglect and incompetence' and attributed the ongoing occurrence of similar incidents to their disregard. The ILNA news agency quoted Haqshenas stating that involving law enforcement in issues related to women's hijabs in cars and using city cameras to combat optional hijab is a misguided direction defined for security officials. A member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly also attributed the deadly explosions in Kerman to the shortcomings of various agencies, stating: 'We must have the courage to acknowledge when a terrorist act occurs that an agency has been negligent in intelligence, operations, prevention, and forecasting.' Shahryar Heydari considered such incidents as weaknesses of security institutions and emphasized: 'In the past year, actions and operations have been carried out from various points in the East and West, martyring many of our armed forces and defenseless citizens.' These statements come as some observers, analysts, and Iranian social media users, citing previous examples such as the burning of Cinema Rex, the shooting down of the Ukrainian plane, and the killing of unarmed protesters, believe that the explosions in Kerman were also 'the work of the Islamic Republic's forces.' Mohsen Khorram, a user on X, previously referred to threats against people by Basij forces during the nationwide protests of 2021, sharing a clipping from the Etemad newspaper that recalled statements from a Basij member in Ekbatan who said: 'I swear! If it comes to it, I will take my own wife and child to preserve the regime.' Social media users have reacted differently to this issue, and as the scope of opposition to the Islamic Republic's narratives has widened, the Attorney General has ordered action against users, leading to the recent arrest and summons of several ordinary citizens and some political activists. Damoon Mohammadi: The Kerman explosions are suspicious; the Islamic Republic benefits the most from the explosions. Latest news from Kerman explosions; report by Afshar Sigarchi. Conflicting reports; a judicial official announced the discovery of 64 more bombs; the IRGC in Kerman denied the existence of 'other bombs.' The Islamic Republic's judiciary has filed charges against eight known figures for commenting on the Kerman incident. A teachers' organization stated that the students killed in Kerman were victims of the Ministry of Education's propaganda policy. Reuters, citing American sources, reported that 'ISIS Khorasan' is responsible for the deadly explosions in Kerman. Narges Mohammadi reacted to the deadly explosions in Kerman, stating that 'security' cannot be sustainable without freedom. The death toll from the Kerman explosions has risen to 89; the Islamic Republic claims to have arrested 'some' of the perpetrators.