Member of Parliament: The Source of Protests in Kazeroon Was Friday Prayer

The representative of Kazeroon has named the Friday prayer leader and the temporary Friday prayer leader of the city as the accused for the unrest that occurred there, claiming they "provoked" the people. He emphasized that the "source" of the protests in this city "started from Friday prayers." According to ILNA news agency, Hossein Razazadeh on Sunday, May 30, denied accusations regarding a proposal to create a new county attributed to him, stating that this proposal was suggested by the Fars governorate to the cabinet. He also mentioned that this proposal has been on the table for 25 years, and previous representatives of Kazeroon in the parliament had made promises regarding it, but due to the opposition of the Friday prayer leader, these promises were not pursued. Mr. Razazadeh accused the Friday prayer leader and the temporary Friday prayer leader of Kazeroon of "provoking" the people and providing them with incorrect information about the creation of the new county. He added, "While they knew that Imamzadeh Seyyed Hossein and Bishapur were not part of the plan to form the Kuh Chenar county, they announced that these sections would be transferred to Kuh Chenar." Mr. Razazadeh also mentioned, without naming, that one of the officials from a ministry residing in Tehran was sending messages to the people of Kazeroon saying, "Go to the streets, and this issue must become global by tonight." He continued, "During the unrest in Kazeroon, there were some who sought to challenge the government, others wanted to challenge the people's representative in parliament, some wanted to show off, and others were political bankrupts with no standing." The creation of a new county has also been a point of contention among local officials in Kazeroon. Local media reported that while Mohammad Kharsand, the Friday prayer leader of Kazeroon, opposed the creation of a new county, Hossein Razazadeh, the representative of Kazeroon in parliament, has tried to separate his hometown (Qaemiyeh) from Kazeroon. Following the protests on May 26 in Kazeroon, the Iranian Ministry of Interior announced on the evening of May 27 that the plan to create a new county in Kazeroon had been halted and threatened to take "decisive legal action" against "disturbers of public order and security." However, some protesters have described the Ministry of Interior's statement about halting the county creation plan as a "trick" to end the protests, and demonstrations in the city continued. Meanwhile, Ali Qasemi, the head of the Fars judiciary, announced on Saturday that one person was killed by gunfire from security forces during the clashes on Thursday, and in total, two people were killed and 48 injured in these protests. According to Hadi Pajoohesh Jahromi, the political deputy of the Fars governor, protesters on Thursday and Friday "set fire to a bank and two police cars." Additionally, Fars news agency released a video on Sunday showing a police kiosk and several government vehicles being set on fire, attributing this act to the protesters. Videos on social media also showed clashes between the people and security forces, with direct gunfire aimed at protesters from the top of the Kazeroon courthouse building. However, Ebrahim Ostovar Maimandi, the governor of Kazeroon, stated that multiple meetings were held with the people on Saturday, and "activities and traffic in the county returned to normal from Saturday evening." He also reported that several detainees were released on Saturday evening, and the rest were "under interrogation and will be released if they had no role in destruction and disturbance of public order." Protests in Kazeroon, which had been ongoing for months, intensified again on the evening of last Wednesday. According to government and judiciary officials, on that night, security forces arrested 15 people, and some individuals stormed the police station to free them, leading the officers to fire at them. While some websites reported the deaths of four people in the Kazeroon protests, the head of the Fars judiciary only confirmed the deaths of two. Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last king of Iran, tweeted that the events in Kazeroon were "another crime" by the "occupiers of Iran" and praised the "steadfastness and bravery" of the people of this city. The National Council of Resistance, an alliance including the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran and some aligned groups, also reported in a statement the deaths of "at least two demonstrators" and a "large number" of injured and detained individuals during the protests on Wednesday night. The protests in Kazeroon also drew a reaction from the U.S. Secretary of State, with Mike Pompeo tweeting on Friday that we support the people of Iran who are protesting against the repressive regime. He emphasized that three deaths and internet outages reveal the true nature of this regime. According to ILNA news agency, local media, and Radio Farda, the head of the Fars judiciary confirmed the deaths of two individuals during the Kazeroon protests.