Tehran Police: We 'Suffocated' Call for Another Gathering in Pasdaran Street

While Tehran police announced that they had 'suffocated' the call for another gathering in Pasdaran Street, President Hassan Rouhani spoke about 'intolerance for violent confrontations and insults to the police,' and the Minister of Interior demanded that the Basij and the IRGC show no leniency in confronting 'violence.' The statements from government officials regarding dealing with 'violence' come as a protest gathering by the Gonabadi Dervishes around the house of Nour Ali Tabandeh, the leader of this order, turned violent due to the intervention of security forces and motorcyclists in plain clothes. A major clash began on Monday night and early Tuesday between security forces and the Gonabadi Dervishes in Pasdaran Street, resulting in at least four deaths and over 300 arrests. Kasra Noori, a Gonabadi Dervish, told Radio Farda on Tuesday, 'About a hundred people attacked the Gonabadi Dervishes, shooting and beating them.' The Iranian police reported that in the clashes on Monday night in Pasdaran Street, 30 police officers and 80 Dervishes were injured and taken to the hospital. Nour Ali Tabandeh, the leader of the Gonabadi Dervishes, resides on Golestan Haftom Street in the Pasdaran area of Tehran. Police had previously clashed with the Gonabadi Dervishes twice on the 4th and 14th of Bahman this year. Reports indicated that the protest gathering of the Dervishes on Monday, February 30, was held in protest against the arrest of Nematollah Riahi, a Gonabadi Dervish who had been detained by Tehran's security police. The official news agency of the Islamic Republic, IRNA, reported on Tuesday night that Tehran police had 'suffocated' the call for another gathering in Pasdaran Street and referred to the protesters as 'rioters' and 'thugs' in its report. IRNA, in its report published late on Tuesday, quoted 'an informed source in Greater Tehran Police' stating that following the announcement of a call for another gathering, the police acted and 'effectively and intelligently' prevented the gathering from taking place. The news agency did not provide details about the police's actions. IRNA further quoted 'a responsible person in the police' stating that the number of people who lost their lives in the Pasdaran incident was 'four police and Basij forces.' This contradicts earlier reports mentioning the deaths of three police officers and two Basij members, totaling five. Saeed Montazeralmahdi, the police spokesman, stated on Tuesday that one Basij member was killed in 'a car attack' and another was killed 'by cold weapon blows.' In contrast, the website 'Majzooban Noor' denied the Dervishes' involvement in the attack on police forces, stating that the Dervishes' gathering was 'peaceful' and they were 'not the initiators of the clashes.' The 'Nematollahi Sultan Ali Shah Gonabadi Order,' whose followers are commonly known as Gonabadi Dervishes, is one of the Sufi orders that adheres to the Twelver Shia beliefs in religious principles and branches. Conflicting reports emerged regarding the deaths of several injured Dervishes. While Majzooban Noor's Twitter account, a news source for Gonabadi Dervishes, announced that several Dervishes had died in the hospital due to 'severe injuries,' Farhad Noori, a Gonabadi Dervish in Australia, stated on Wednesday to Radio Farda that this news is not yet confirmed. The ISNA news agency also quoted 'an informed source' denying this news. Majzooban Noor's Twitter account stated on Wednesday, February 21, 'Unfortunately, according to received news, several Gonabadi Dervishes lost their lives in Labafinejad Hospital due to severe injuries.' The Twitter account added, 'The hospital's emergency room has been quarantined, and security forces are only allowing crisis team staff access to the section.' A member of the Judiciary Commission stated that the video released of the Gonabadi Dervish bus driver on the hospital bed indicates severe beating. In response to this news, ISNA quoted an unnamed informed source denying 'the news of the death of three Dervishes during the recent unrest in Pasdaran Street.' The accuracy of this news has not been confirmed by independent sources. Meanwhile, the Majzooban Noor Telegram channel reported a lack of information regarding the status of three injured Dervishes from the police's clash with the Dervishes on Monday night in Pasdaran Street. According to the report, Reza Entesari, Kasra Noori, and Behnoud Rostami were transferred to Imam Sajjad Hospital in a coma due to severe injuries, and no updates on their condition have been released. The Majzooban Noor Telegram channel also reported that on Tuesday, several women from the Gonabadi Dervish group, named Sepideh Moradi, Shokoufeh Yadollahi, Nazila Noori, Shima Entesari, Sima Entesari, Avisha Jalaleddin, Maryam Farisani, Masoumeh Barakouhi, and Elham Ahmadi, were transferred from Evin Prison to Qarchak Varamin Prison. The report adds that these prisoners were 'severely injured, with some suffering from broken arms, legs, and heads.' According to this report, these individuals were charged with 'conspiracy against national security,' 'propaganda against the regime,' 'participation in illegal gatherings and disruption of public order and comfort' before being transferred to Qarchak Prison. The Majzooban Noor Telegram channel further reported that these Dervishes, stating that they had committed 'no crime,' refused to post bail. Meanwhile, according to the Twitter account of the Shargh newspaper, Mohammad Javad Fathi, a member of the Judiciary Commission, referred to the video of the Gonabadi Dervish bus driver who collided with the officers, stating, 'The video of the Gonabadi Dervish on the hospital bed indicates severe beating, and if this was done by the agents, the prosecutor should take legal action against the offending officers.' Review of the situation in Parliament A member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian Parliament reported on Wednesday, February 21, that 'details' of the recent events in Pasdaran Street concerning the Gonabadi Dervishes are being reviewed in this commission. According to the Mehr news agency, Alireza Rahimi, a member of this commission, stated that on Wednesday morning, police and IRGC commanders from Tehran, as well as 'officials from the Ministry of Intelligence' participated in the National Security Commission meeting. The Mehr news agency described the beginning of the clash in Pasdaran Street as follows: 'The police's action to transfer suspects of a theft case, one of whom was a member of the sect, was met with intervention from several of his friends, leading to the escape of the suspect, which prompted a group of sect members to visit the Pasdaran police station, where they blocked the street and shouted various slogans, disrupting a wide area of Pasdaran.' This news agency referred to the Gonabadi Dervishes, who are Shia, as members of 'a sect.' Meanwhile, according to ISNA, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, the Minister of Interior, stated early Wednesday on the sidelines of the cabinet meeting, 'The government, security and law enforcement agencies, Basij, and IRGC will not show leniency against violence, extremism, and lawbreaking, and we expect the judiciary to take legal and clear action against all those responsible for this incident.' He concluded, 'We consider the Dervish movement in the country to be a rational, logical, and moderate movement, and we do not attribute the events in Pasdaran Street to this movement.'