Tehran Police Chief: We Will Confront Political Faction Supporters' Meetings

Hosseini Sajadi-Nia, the commander of Greater Tehran Police, announced that the police in Tehran will confront supporters of political factions who hold meetings or cause any form of tension and conflict during the election campaign according to the law. According to a report published on Tuesday, February 22, on the police news website, Sajadi-Nia stated that the police are in a state of 'complete and full readiness' to deal with these issues. He emphasized the presence of specialized police officers from the Greater Tehran Police Command throughout the city and noted that 'the police have expanded their intelligence monitoring scope and will act according to the law if supporters or specific individuals intend to create tension in the election atmosphere.' With three days remaining until the elections for the Islamic Council and the Assembly of Experts, intelligence, security, and police agencies have long announced that they will confront any form of 'insecurity' and attempts to create 'disruption' in the elections on February 26. In this context, Hossein Ashtari, the commander of the NAJA police, also warned last Sunday about what he called 'self-styled groups' and reported that 250,000 police personnel will ensure 'election security.' The NAJA commander had previously stated on February 11 that no election candidates are allowed to hold street gatherings and meetings during the election campaign, threatening that if supporters of candidates hold gatherings for election purposes, they will be confronted. Meanwhile, the campaign period for the Assembly of Experts candidates began on February 11, and reports indicated that extensive campaigning in favor of candidates from the conservative coalition close to Ayatollah Khamenei took place during organized rallies on this day. On the same day, according to the election headquarters of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of the Expediency Discernment Council and one of the approved candidates for the upcoming Assembly of Experts elections, his campaign banners were removed from the rally routes.