Shiraz Prosecutor Reports Arrest of Organizers of Pasargad Gathering

On Tuesday, November 1, the Shiraz prosecutor announced the arrest of the organizers of the gathering on the day of Cyrus and stated that "a legal case has been formed against these individuals and necessary judicial actions will be taken against them." In Iran, Friday, November 1, has been unofficially designated as Cyrus Day, and in recent years, groups of people have gathered in Pasargad on this day. According to some reports, a group of participants at this year's gathering in Pasargad chanted slogans including "Iran is our homeland, Cyrus is our father" as well as slogans against the Islamic Republic government. According to ISNA news agency, Ali Salehi, the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Fars province, said that the gathering on Friday in Pasargad was accompanied by "norm-breaking" and added that "the main agents of this norm-breaking have been arrested." He mentioned that "the actions of these individuals had previously been monitored by security, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies." Salehi further stated that "after necessary investigations, the leaders and main instigators of this gathering who had engaged in chanting norm-breaking and anti-values slogans were arrested." Recently, Hossein Noori Hamadani, a Shiite cleric in Qom, also criticized the presence of thousands next to the tomb of Cyrus in Pasargad, stating that Ruhollah Khomeini, the former leader of the Islamic Republic, labeled those who "remembered Cyrus" as "anti-revolutionary." There is no accurate count of the attendees at the Cyrus Day gathering in Pasargad, but Shahin Sepanta, a cultural activist in Isfahan, stated in an interview with Radio Farda that unofficial estimates suggest about 15,000 to 20,000 people participated in the ceremony. Reports indicate that another slogan chanted by the participants on this day in Pasargad was "Happy Birthday, Prince," referring to November 1, the birthday of Reza Pahlavi, the former crown prince of Iran. Reza Pahlavi also reacted to this slogan on his Facebook page, stating that it was the "best birthday gift in recent years." The National Council of Iran, which Reza Pahlavi heads, also issued a statement on the occasion of Cyrus Day, calling for the "official designation of November 1 in the national calendar of Iran as Cyrus Day." The council's statement also urged "abstaining from any violent actions, anywhere in the world."