IRGC Gilan Reports Arrest of Several Social Media Activists

The Intelligence Organization of the IRGC in Gilan announced the arrest of several social media activists on charges of "inciting Azerbaijani speakers in Gilan" and calling for "chaos and unrest." The cyber official of the IRGC Quds Force in Gilan, whose name was not disclosed, told the Tasnim news agency that these individuals were arrested in a "systematic, coordinated, and powerful operation." He listed "quick identification and confrontation" with the mentioned individuals as features of this operation and announced that detailed information about the actions of the regime's enemies in cyberspace would be published in the future. The local website "8 D News" also reported that the IRGC in Gilan "thwarted hostile ethnic networks preparing for chaos and unrest in the Azerbaijani-speaking counties of the province and dealt with the agents of this movement." No further details about this operation or the number of individuals arrested by the IRGC Intelligence Organization in Gilan have been published so far. This marks the third time in the past ten days that the IRGC has reported arrests. Last week, the IRGC Intelligence Organization arrested five journalists, and two days later, the IRGC in Qazvin reported the arrest of several mobile social media managers, which was denied by the judiciary. The IRGC operation in Gilan aimed to arrest several virtual activists in a context where Hassan Rouhani had previously criticized the arrest of journalists. Two days ago, protests were held in Tabriz, Urmia, Ardabil, and Zanjan against a television program, which reportedly ended with police intervention and the arrest of several individuals. Security and provincial officials stated that this gathering ended "peacefully" and that the police did not resort to violence, but some reports indicated that the police used tear gas to disperse the protesters. These gatherings, which officials from the Ministry of Interior stated were "unauthorized," were in protest against a segment of the weekly program "Fitileh," which protesters believed insulted "Azerbaijani speakers." Before the gathering, Mohammad Sarafraz, the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) and the producers of this television show apologized to Azerbaijani speakers and stated that the broadcast of the program had been halted.