Iran's Interior Ministry Claims 43,000 Gatherings Held in the Past Four Years

The spokesperson for Iran's Interior Ministry, while implicitly opposing the Tehran City Council's resolution to allocate a space for gatherings, claimed that since the beginning of Hassan Rouhani's administration, 43,000 gatherings, or about 30 gatherings per day, have been held across the country. According to the IRNA news agency, Salman Samani stated on Saturday, January 13, that since the start of the 11th government, 43,000 gatherings, both authorized and unauthorized, have taken place nationwide. By calculating this statistic and the days of Hassan Rouhani's administration, it becomes clear that the spokesperson has claimed that approximately 30 gatherings have occurred each day during Mr. Rouhani's tenure. Mr. Samani did not provide details about these gatherings, and it is unclear how many of them received permits. This statement comes at a time when the Interior Ministry rarely issues permits for political marches and gatherings. The ministry has also repeatedly denied permits for gatherings by occupational groups, including workers. Furthermore, these organizations have reported that after holding peaceful gatherings, several participants or organizers have been arrested or summoned. The lack of permits for gatherings occurs despite Article 27 of the Islamic Republic's Constitution stating: 'The formation of gatherings and marches, without carrying weapons, is free as long as it does not disrupt the foundations of Islam.' However, there are complex conditions in Iranian laws for issuing permits for gatherings or marches, and the Interior Ministry has only approved a few requests in recent years. Groups requesting to hold gatherings or marches must provide 'complete information about the executive and security officials' to the Interior Ministry, in addition to details such as the topic and time of the march. Meanwhile, Mahmoud Mirlohi, Deputy Minister of Interior during Mohammad Khatami's administration and a member of the Tehran City Council, stated on January 7 that under current laws, even holding 'a legal gathering is not feasible.' Following recent gatherings in Iran, the Tehran City Council approved a 'dual-urgency plan to select a location for public protests' on January 7. The Interior Ministry spokesperson reacted to this resolution on Saturday and implicitly rejected it. Mr. Samani stated that the Tehran City Council's resolution is merely a 'proposal' and does not consider the 'security and political dimensions' of gatherings. He added, 'Governorships are the legal authority for issuing permits for gatherings, and where necessary, city councils and municipalities can coordinate with the governorship.' Mr. Samani emphasized that it is 'not appropriate' for gatherings to be limited to one location. The spokesperson also announced that the ministry is required, based on a cabinet resolution, to prepare a comprehensive report on recent gatherings in various international, domestic, and economic dimensions, which will be submitted to the President within a week. According to statistics provided by Iranian television and members of parliament, at least 25 people have been killed and around four thousand have been arrested in recent gatherings. Several members of the Expediency Discernment Council of Iran, including Gholamreza Mesbahi Moghadam, had previously reported on the reading of a report by the Supreme National Security Council in a session of this body. According to Mr. Mesbahi Moghadam, the Supreme National Security Council of Iran claimed in this report that recent gatherings in Iran were organized in meetings in Herat, Afghanistan, and Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan. Meanwhile, Mohsen Rezai, Secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council, also referred to this report, stating: 'A few months ago, the head of the CIA's special operations desk in Erbil, Iraq, met with the office head of Saddam's son and Hani Talafah, Saddam's brother-in-law, as well as a representative from Saudi Arabia, Barzani, and the Mojahedin [People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran] to plan these events.' These statements have, on one hand, prompted reactions from Kurdish officials who described it as 'comedy,' and on the other hand, have resonated among political activists and Iranian social media users who found the involvement of Saddam Hussein's brother-in-law in the matter to be a joke. Nevertheless, Iranian officials, including the Supreme Leader and the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, have repeatedly attributed the recent protests in the country to foreign factors, including Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the United States, protests that began in response to Iran's economic conditions in Mashhad and quickly spread across the country. Attributing these protests to foreign factors has led to significant negative reactions, to the extent that even some reformist factions, which had called for confronting these protests, considered the focus on foreign factors as 'an insult to society.' Mahmoud Sadqi, a member of parliament, also tweeted that 'according to intelligence officials, no foreign agents have been involved in the recent unrest.' Additionally, the Israeli Prime Minister described the attribution of recent protests to his country as ridiculous, and the head of the CIA emphasized that there was no involvement of this agency in the protests in Iran, stressing that the people of Iran are dissatisfied with economic conditions and have distanced themselves from the clergy.