Government News Agency's Reaction to Recent Arrests in Zahedan: 'Decisive Action' Against 'Rumor' Spreaders Aimed at 'Chaos'

The government news agency reported that the recent arrests in Zahedan were a 'decisive action' against those spreading rumors about an alleged poisoning attempt on Molavi Abdolhamid. One day after reports emerged about the arrest of several individuals close to Molavi Abdolhamid, the official news agency IRNA cited an 'informed source' stating that the arrests were related to the rumor of an attempt to poison the Sunni Friday prayer leader of Zahedan. On Tuesday night, IRNA quoted its source: 'Based on the special emphasis of the Chief Justice of Sistan and Baluchestan Province on identifying and decisively dealing with the spreaders of this rumor, which caused public anxiety, several of these individuals and social media activists were identified and arrested.' The 'informed source' claimed that 'initial investigations revealed that these individuals acted without evidence or legal documents and solely aimed to create unrest and chaos' by spreading this 'rumor.' On Wednesday morning, the Fars news agency, affiliated with security institutions, published a short video of an interview with an individual suspected of attempting to poison Molavi Abdolhamid, who claimed he was pressured by the 'security of Makki Mosque' to 'confess.' Fars published this video despite its prominent role in producing and broadcasting 'forced confessions' of many political and civil activists critical of or opposed to the Islamic Republic over the decades. Reports emerged the previous day that the grandson of Molavi Abdolhamid, the Sunni Friday prayer leader of Zahedan, who has openly challenged the policies of the Islamic Republic in recent months, was violently arrested by security forces. The Twitter account 'Hal-Vash,' which follows news related to Baluch citizens, reported on Tuesday, July 6, the arrest of Abdolnasir Shahbakhsh, the grandson of Molavi Abdolhamid Ismailzahi, stating that security forces, while arresting him, resorted to 'violence' and transferred him to an unknown location. Concurrently with Abdolnasir Shahbakhsh's arrest, 'Hal-Vash' reported that Hamid Mohammadi Nik (Barahui) and Osama Shahbakhsh, two cameramen and photographers from Makki Mosque in Zahedan, where weekly protests occur after Friday prayers, were also arrested. Continuous protests in Zahedan have been ongoing since October 2022, following Friday prayers, and Molavi Abdolhamid's candid criticisms of the Islamic Republic have continued unabated. According to leaked documents from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Islamic Republic's policy towards Molavi Abdolhamid, based on the wishes of Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, was to 'discredit' him. However, in recent days, an individual disguised as a cleric was arrested by the security of Makki Mosque, who, based on confessions released from him, allegedly intended to 'assassinate' the Sunni Friday prayer leader of Zahedan with poison on the orders of the IRGC. The Chief Justice of Sistan and Baluchestan on Wednesday, June 21, in response to the news of the 'attempt to assassinate the Sunni Friday prayer leader of Zahedan,' stated: 'Makki Mosque must prove that this person intended such an act; otherwise, they must be held accountable under the law.' According to the Tasnim news agency affiliated with the IRGC, Ali Mostafavi-Nia, the Chief Justice of Sistan and Baluchestan, rejected reports about a daily deposit of 15 million tomans into the account of the individual attempting to assassinate Molavi Abdolhamid, adding: 'The forces of Makki Mosque illegally arrested this individual, and he has now become a complainant for this reason.' The Chief Justice stated that 'this individual has been handed over by security agencies to the judiciary so that if he has any complaints, they can be addressed, and emphasized: 'Makki Mosque must prove that this person intended to poison the clerics and Molavi Abdolhamid, and if it is not proven, they must be held accountable under the law.' Mehdi Nakhl Ahmadi, a journalist, told Voice of America that although the government has tried to link Molavi Abdolhamid's protests to 'Wahhabis' and 'Jaish al-Adl,' the Sunni Friday prayer leader of Zahedan emphasizes Iran and the unity of all ethnicities and citizens. According to him, the Islamic Republic seeks to 'erase the issue' and fundamentally suppress and silence any voice that criticizes, including Molavi Abdolhamid.