Government and Public Institutions in Tehran Closed on Presidential Inauguration Day

The Secretary of the Cabinet announced on Tuesday: "All government agencies and public institutions" in Tehran will be closed on August 14 in observance of the inauguration ceremony of the twelfth presidential term. Simultaneously, the Deputy Security and Police Chief of the Ministry of Interior stated that the security level around the Parliament area has been raised from sensitive to vital. According to ISNA news agency, Mohsen Hajizadeh Mirzaei explained the reason for this closure: "Given the extensive participation of foreign delegations in the inauguration ceremony of the twelfth presidential term and to ensure the appropriate and dignified conduct of the ceremony and to facilitate the movement of foreign delegations and the comfort of Tehran citizens, all government agencies and public institutions except for emergency and relief organizations will be closed on August 14 in Tehran." The inauguration ceremony of Hassan Rouhani as the new president is scheduled for next Saturday, August 14, and among the attendees will be Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief and coordinator of the Joint Commission on the JCPOA. This is the first time such a decision has been made for a presidential inauguration ceremony. Meanwhile, Hossein Zolfaqari, the Deputy Security and Police Chief of the Ministry of Interior, stated on Tuesday that the security level around the Parliament during the presidential inauguration days has been elevated from sensitive to vital. According to ISNA, he mentioned that all security, police, and traffic forecasts have been made, and tasks have been divided in the Protection Commission at the Ministry of Interior. Mr. Zolfaqari noted that "multiple meetings have been held to ensure the security of the inauguration ceremony," adding, "The overall responsibility for maintaining security lies with the Tharallah Headquarters, and the duties of the IRGC, police, Ministry of Intelligence, and air defense have also been specified. An extraordinary meeting of the National Security Council for the inauguration ceremony will also be held today because the level and number of participating diplomatic delegations is high." These security measures were implemented following the attack on the Parliament building and the tomb of Ruhollah Khomeini on June 17, for which the Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility. This incident left 17 dead. Iranian officials had previously spoken of their "intelligence superiority" over the security situation and the presence of ISIS in Iran until this attack. The Deputy Security and Police Chief of the Ministry of Interior referred to the June 17 attacks, stating: "More than 100 teams have been neutralized in recent years due to intelligence superiority and the efforts of military, police, and intelligence forces, but this terrorist team that operated in Tehran had passed through our intelligence net." Zolfaqari mentioned that security activities against ISIS have intensified after the June 17 attack, stating: "Elements connected to these groups have been targeted, and individuals who unknowingly intended to cooperate with this group have been educated. Those who had taken organizational actions were arrested, and several teams were targeted in the western part of the country." He also referred to the revision of the protection plan for Iranian facilities and installations, which has been approved by the National Security Council and sent to the Supreme National Security Council. The Deputy Minister of Interior expressed hope regarding the submission of this plan to Parliament, adding: "In this plan, we have classified the locations and installations and specified the type of protection for them, and of course, in addition to government locations, water and electricity facilities have also been considered." According to Zolfaqari, ISIS forces currently weakened in Iraq and Syria are "seeking disruptive actions in regional countries, which we are addressing in this plan to neutralize terrorist actions." The Islamic State had managed to seize the city of Mosul and large parts of western Iraq in 2014. However, this group has suffered many defeats in Iraq over the past two years and has now also lost control of Mosul. In Syria, it is also under pressure in Raqqa, its self-proclaimed capital.