Interior Ministry Warns of ‘Decisive Legal Action’ Against ‘Public Order Disruptors’ in Kazerun
Iran’s Interior Ministry issued a statement Thursday evening, Ordibehesht 27, announcing that the plan to create a new county in Kazerun has been suspended, while threatening to take “decisive legal action” against “those who disrupt public order and security.”
According to ISNA news agency, the ministry also stated that Wednesday night clashes in Kazerun “have roots in factors other than administrative divisions that require careful identification.”
Following the presence of the director general of the Interior Ministry’s territorial divisions in Kazerun and pending “detailed review and consideration of public suggestions and addressing existing deficiencies,” the plan to create a new county has been “suspended.”
A group of Kazerun residents oppose a plan that would separate several cities and districts from the county to create a new county called “Kohchinar,” whose name is derived from two regions: “Kohmarre Noudan” (renamed Ghaimiyeh) and “Chanarshahijan.”
Opponents view this plan as the “partition of Kazerun.”
Continuing previous months of protests, a group of people gathered Thursday evening in opposition to the plan, and the gathering escalated into clashes with security forces.
While some sources reported at least three deaths and numerous injured and detained in the Kazerun protest gathering Wednesday evening, the Fars province governor confirmed the death of only one person.
Meanwhile, Mahmoud Sadeqi, Tehran’s representative in parliament, stated: “People expect the law to be the standard. Acts of violence are not the right way to respond to people’s protests.”
According to reports, the security situation in Kazerun city remained tight on Thursday, with officers stationed at various points throughout the city.
The Interior Ministry asked Kazerun residents to be vigilant against what it called “conspiracies of enemies and anti-revolutionary websites and sinister objectives of adversaries” and to “not allow social security in the region to be disrupted and an unsafe atmosphere to prevail.”
The statement also threatened that those “who have attempted to disrupt public order and security for other purposes will face decisive legal action.”
A number of social media users, by posting images and videos, stated that following the arrest of some Kazerun residents on Wednesday, a group of people gathered in front of an intelligence police base, but the gathering turned violent when officers stormed the area and opened fire.
