Interior Minister: We Will Not Tolerate Chaos

In response to the protests in various cities in Iran, the Deputy Speaker and several members of Parliament have called for permits for these gatherings, while the Interior Minister stated, "We cannot tolerate chaos and harming people's property." According to ISNA news agency, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, the Interior Minister, said on Sunday, January 1, that "recent events have provided an opportunity to expose those who conspire against the people." He linked the recent protests to issues related to financial institutions, claiming that over 95% of the problems of these institutions have been resolved by the government. This statement comes despite numerous protests by depositors of these institutions in Tehran and other cities in recent weeks, where protesters have held the government, including the Central Bank, responsible for their issues. He added, "However, some who want to resolve these issues in a way that involves fear, chaos, and damage to people's property, and to portray the organized and elevated face of the Islamic Iranian people as lawbreakers, we certainly cannot tolerate." Linking the recent protests to financial institutions comes at a time when many of these protests have included political slogans against figures such as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Hassan Rouhani. Eshaq Jahangiri, the First Vice President of Iran, implicitly attributed last Thursday's protest in Mashhad to government opponents, stating, "Those who initiate street movements will not be the ones to end them." In contrast to these remarks, some reformist figures, including Mahmoud Sadeghi, a member of Parliament, emphasized that these protests are "a reaction to the disarray and shortcomings in the overall management and governance of the country over various periods" and that "instead of trying to extinguish and politicize them, we should listen to the people's voices and find solutions." Rahmani Fazli also stated on Sunday, "Those who are currently exploiting social media to promote violence and teach how to make explosives and set fire to people's homes and businesses are undoubtedly not from the people." His comments regarding the alleged teaching of "explosive making" in social media come after a Twitter conversation between the Iranian Minister of Communications and the CEO of the Telegram messaging app led to the blocking of the "Amad News" Telegram channel. Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, stated that this channel proposed methods for "teaching how to make and use Molotov cocktails," and some Twitter users published screenshots in this regard. In response, Pavel Durov, the CEO of Telegram, wrote that if this is confirmed, Telegram would have to delete this channel, and ultimately, the channel was blocked on Saturday night. After the blocking, the Amad News channel launched a new one. The Iranian Interior Minister also asked people on Saturday not to participate in illegal gatherings and to request permission if they intend to gather so that it can be "reviewed." Rahmani Fazli's statements come amid complex conditions in Iranian laws for issuing permits for gatherings or marches, with the Ministry of Interior having only approved a few requests in recent years. Nevertheless, Article 27 of the Islamic Republic's Constitution states: "The formation of gatherings and marches, without carrying weapons, is free, provided that it does not disrupt the principles of Islam." In this context, Hossein Naqavi Hosseini, the spokesman for the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Parliament, called on the Ministry of Interior on Sunday to "designate and announce a specific location for protest gatherings and to issue permits for holding these gatherings." Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, also wrote in a note about the reasons for the "violence" of the gatherings that "no permits are issued for any gathering, and the Ministry of Interior deems all civil gatherings and protests illegal." According to websites affiliated with trade unions and some news agencies, there have been severe crackdowns on some trade gatherings in Iran, including the crackdown on workers of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company in the summer of this year and workers of the Hepco and Azarab factories in Arak in September, which drew criticism. He emphasized that the Ministry of Interior "must recognize civil protests and not be strict in issuing permits, and the people must also adhere to the requirements of civil protest." The Deputy Speaker also stated that officials must create conditions for "civil and calm expression of the people's opinions" and deal severely with "destruction of public property and creating chaos." In recent days, security forces and the Basij have clashed with protesters, detaining several of them. Meanwhile, according to published reports, two protesters in Dorud, Lorestan province, were killed by security forces' gunfire. However, Habibollah Khajastehpour, the political-security deputy of Lorestan province, confirmed reports about the deaths of two in these clashes, stating that they were killed by "takfiri and hostile groups," although he did not provide evidence for this claim.