Identification of 'More than Ten' Perpetrators of the Attack on Motahari in Shiraz

On Tuesday, the Deputy Minister of Security of the Islamic Republic's Ministry of Interior announced that based on 'various documents including photos and videos', the identities of more than ten perpetrators of the attack on Ali Motahari in Shiraz have been identified. According to ISNA, Hossein Zolfaqari, the Deputy Minister, stated at the end of his trip to Shiraz on March 17 that 'it was decided that anyone who has committed any degree of negligence, violation, or law-breaking will be dealt with in accordance with the law and regulations in coordination with the prosecutor.' Zolfaqari heads a committee formed by the Ministry of Interior to investigate the attack on Motahari. Members of this committee had traveled to Shiraz on Monday. Previously, Hossein Ali Amiri, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior, had stated on Monday that in a 20-minute video of the incident, the faces of the attackers are 'almost' identifiable. However, he also announced that no one has been arrested in connection with this attack so far. Ali Motahari, a representative from Tehran in the parliament, who traveled to Shiraz on March 9 for a speech at Shiraz University, was 'beaten by plainclothes forces' at the airport and was ultimately forced to return to Tehran. Following this incident, President Hassan Rouhani ordered the Ministers of Intelligence and Interior to pursue the matter of the attack on Motahari. In another part of his remarks, the Deputy Minister of Interior said, 'It was decided that the intelligence agencies, consisting of the provincial intelligence department, the protection of the police, and the protection of the IRGC, would compile and integrate their documents and investigations under the supervision of the prosecutor.' He added, 'Necessary coordination has also been carried out in the provincial security council, and based on the Minister of Interior's order, the governor of Fars, as the head of the security council, has been tasked with following up and coordinating to identify the perpetrators of the incident in cooperation with security agencies.' According to Zolfaqari, the report of the mentioned committee will soon be presented to the head of the National Security Council and will be made available to national authorities after review. Zolfaqari also announced the formation of meetings with the representative of the Supreme Leader in Fars Province and other officials in the province, stating that 'there are good positions among the officials.' The Deputy Minister's statements come after Motahari accused the Friday prayer leader of Shiraz of being the primary instigator of the attack against him. Asadollah Imani, the Friday prayer leader of Shiraz, had implicitly attributed Motahari to 'tyranny' and 'sedition', stating that 'if someone breaks the boundaries of the guardianship and the experts and the sedition, should they expect that others will not break their boundaries?' On March 9, Motahari also stated about his attackers: 'It seems that there was an accepted principle; these individuals, who were identifiable by their equipment such as heavy motorcycles and pepper spray, were clearly receiving orders from somewhere.' 'Heavy motorcycles' are typically used by military institutions and Basij forces in Iran. Meanwhile, in further reactions, Mohammad Reza Bahonar, the Deputy Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, stated that the actions taken against Motahari 'are not at all justifiable.' According to ISNA, he added on Tuesday, 'Mr. Motahari sometimes says things and behaves in ways that, as the saying goes, he is crying out, 'Police, come and arrest me.' If he himself also observes more caution, it would be beneficial for him and his family.' The Deputy Speaker's comments come as Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, stated on March 16 that the attack on Motahari 'damaged the internal and external roots of the country and did not help the system.' However, Aladdin Boroujerdi, the head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Parliament, stated on Tuesday: 'The culprit of the Shiraz incident is the university president who disobeyed the resolution of the provincial security council.' A day before Boroujerdi's remarks, Motahari had denied the claims made about the 'security council' resolution in opposition to his speech and the recommendations of Fars officials against his travel to Shiraz. Mohammad Ahmadi, the governor of Fars, on March 9, referred to the opposition of the Shiraz security council to Motahari's speech, stating that the Fars governor's office had asked him, through the Jahrum mayor, who has a friendship with Motahari, not to travel to Shiraz for the speech and to delay the trip by a few days. Meanwhile, Majid Irshad, the president of Shiraz University, stated that the recommendation of the Shiraz security council against holding Motahari's speech was raised and rejected by the supervisory board on student organizations.