Iran's Deputy Interior Minister: Details of Acid Attacks Will Be Announced Soon

Just one day after the police chief stated that 'no one' has been arrested in connection with the acid attacks in Isfahan, Iran's Deputy Interior Minister announced that details of the acid attacks will be revealed soon and the perpetrators will be identified. According to Tasnim News Agency, Hossein Zolfaqari said on Thursday, November 22, 'Gathering information about the acid attacks in Isfahan has been a comprehensive task, and once we have certainty and clarity on the matter, we will introduce the perpetrators and announce information regarding this case to the public.' He added, 'There are individuals under suspicion that detectives are currently pursuing, and we will soon provide the public with information regarding the arrest of those involved in the acid attacks in Isfahan.' Zolfaqari's promise to introduce the 'perpetrators' of the Isfahan acid attacks comes despite his previous statement on October 30, where he claimed that the attacks were carried out by 'one person' and were 'not organized or group-based' in any way. Officials from various institutions in the Islamic Republic have so far made contradictory statements regarding the perpetrator or perpetrators of the serial acid attacks in Isfahan. In the latest remarks, Ismail Ahmadi Moghadam, the commander of the Islamic Republic's police, stated on Wednesday, November 21, that so far 'no one' has been arrested in connection with the acid attacks in Isfahan. Simultaneously, Hossein Ali Amiri, the spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, also mentioned that no clues have been found regarding these incidents. Avaz Heydarpoor, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian Parliament, mentioned on November 14 that based on the 'initial assessment' of the committee's investigations, the perpetrator of the acid attacks in this city was 'only one person' and he is 'on the verge of arrest' and will be 'easily arrested soon.' However, just two days after Heydarpoor's comments, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the first deputy of the judiciary, stated that to clarify the dimensions of this case, one must wait, and it cannot be definitively said that the acid attacks were the work of one person. Shahindokht Molaverdi, Deputy for Women's and Family Affairs under Hassan Rouhani, also reported on November 20 about the presentation of reports by the ministers of intelligence, justice, and interior in two previous sessions of the government regarding the acid attacks in Isfahan, stating, 'Due to the lack of clues regarding the perpetrators of this incident, the investigations have not yet yielded results.' In this context, Ahmadi Moghadam reported that since the beginning of this year, there have been 318 cases of acid attacks, and the National Security Commission of the Parliament stated that the acid attacks have personal motives. The Deputy President noted that the investigations into the acid attacks have not yielded results, highlighting the issue of acid attacks and the distrust in government institutions in Iran.