Readiness of 'Zafar Headquarters' to Confront 'Election Violators'

The commander of the special units of Iran's police announced the readiness of these units under the 'Zafar Headquarters' to confront those he termed 'violators in the elections'. According to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), Hassan Karami, speaking on Wednesday, March 5, at a specialized meeting of the Zafar Headquarters for the Assembly of Experts and Islamic Council elections, added that 'Zafar Headquarters is the support of NAJA in missions'. He emphasized that 'the special unit has taken measures to enhance its combat readiness, operational capability, and perceptual preparedness well before the elections; in this context, training other police units across the country has also been on its agenda since the beginning of this year'. Eskandar Momeni, deputy commander of the police, previously stated in an interview with the IRNA news agency that 'the goal of establishing and launching the Zafar Headquarters in the police is to carry out very important missions inside and outside the city', and this headquarters is 'equipped with the most advanced facilities'. With only two days remaining until the elections, warnings from Iranian police officials regarding confrontations with what they call 'self-styled groups' and 'violators' have increased. These officials have not provided details on the definitions of 'self-styled groups' and 'violators', but these terms have previously been used by them to refer to protesters against the results of the 2009 elections. In connection with the increased warnings, Hossein Sajedi-Nia, commander of Greater Tehran police, announced on Monday that the police in Tehran 'will confront political faction supporters who hold rallies or cause any tension and clashes according to the law during the election candidates' campaign'. Before him, Hossein Ashtari, commander of NAJA, also warned last Sunday about what he called 'self-styled groups' and reported that 250,000 police officers would ensure 'election security'.