Iran Police Appoint New Chief For Flashpoint Province, Repeat Threats
The Islamic Republic police chief has appointed a new commander for Sistan-Baluchestan, the second in recent months for a province where protests have not eased since September.
The Islamic Republic police chief has appointed a new commander for Sistan-Baluchestan, the second in recent months for a province where protests have not eased since September.
As protests and strikes are likely to gain new momentum over the freefall of the national currency rial, Police Chief Ahmad-Reza Radan appointed Doustali Jalilian Sunday, to replace Mohammad Ghanbari who held the post for about two months in the restive province.
Ghanbari himself had replaced Ahmad Taheri in November, who was the police commander during the massacre of protesters on September 30 in the provincial capital Zahedan. During “Bloody Friday”, as it became known, security forces opened fire killing more than 80 people. The security council of the province dismissed the police commander and chief of a police base in the city to calm the situation but to no avail. The Sunni Imam of Zahedan, Mowlavi Abdolhamid, called the move “inadequate” but “a right step” demanding the formation of an independent fact-finding committee to deal with the Bloody Friday massacre. Abdolhamid repeated his call for investigation into the incident almost every Friday since then.
Jalilian, the new police chief, was the commander of Shahr-e Rey, a city in Tehran province with a relatively high crime rate. The new appointment can be seen as part of intensifying security measures in the face of rising prices and the devaluation of rial, which herald a new wave of regular protests.
During a ceremony to announce the appointment, Radan who was himself chosen for the job in January, reiterated threats against holding demonstrations. Like many other intelligence and police officials, Radan is a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s and in essence an IRGC officer.
Regarding the security of Zahedan, there will not be any appeasement, he said, adding, “We don't allow anyone to cross our red line because such issues (protests) stop the moving train of development.”
Trying to justify the appointment of the new chief just about two months after the earlier replacement, he claimed that Ghanbari had been "temporarily" appointed to the police command of this province. However, no report was published about the temporary nature of Ghanbari's mission.
Despite large crowds gathering every Friday since September to protest against the Islamic Republic in Zahedan, Radan claimed, "Today, this province is in a good condition in terms of all security indicators.”
Last Friday, February 24, the Iranian regime was determined to prevent another round of protests by heavily deploying its security forces. However, worshippers held their customary rally following prayers, chanting "Death to Khamenei" and "Death to IRGC."
Makki Grand Mosque, where Abdolhamid usually delivers his Friday sermons, was under siege since the early hours on Friday and security forces tried to enter the Sunni mosque but were confronted by angry people. Some social media videos show snipers stationed on the roofs of the buildings and hills in the area.
Amnesty International said on Friday that Ebrahim Rigi, a 24-year Baluch protester died as a result of beatings and injuries he sustained in police custody earlier in the week. Amnesty added that “evidence pointing to torture shows once again the Iranian authorities’ horrific assault on the right to life.” A day earlier, the former police commander had reacted to the murder of Rigi claiming that some people having a dispute with the victim had beaten and taken him to the police station while he was unconscious.
Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Sean Fraser elaborated on the Thursday announcement about Canada making it easier for Iranians who wish to extend their temporary status in Canada, allowing them to apply for a new permit from inside the country.
In his virtual interview with Mahsa Mortazavi, he said the measures were meant to help those Iranians who fear for their safety and prefer to stay longer in Canada after their temporary visa expires rather than return home amid an uprising in Iran, now into its six months and gaining more momentum.
Fraser said as per their new regulations, Iranians studying, working or visiting family or any other temporary stay can get an extension of two years. The application process will be up and running as of March, he added.
In addition to the new measures, the Canadian government also plans more options for other Iranians, who wish to immigrate to Canada. He, in particular, mentioned the special program that Canada has for people who seek refuge because they are being persecuted as human rights defenders.
“We’re seeing and hearing stories from the Iranian community in Canada that there are many individuals who are vulnerable as a result of them standing up for human rights in Iran,” he said, adding that they are looking at the options to expand access to this stream.
Answering a question about the situation of many Iranians who fled to Turkey in recent months to escape persecution by the regime, he said the situation is very challenging. He acknowledged the “extraordinary danger” they are facing in Turkey – considering Ankara’s close relations with Tehran and its proximity – saying Canada wants to do more to facilitate the protection of vulnerable individuals.
He noted that there are certain unique challenges in Turkey, some of which are outside the control of the Canadian government and related to Turkish regulations, such as the documents needed to exit Turkey.
He promised they are going to consider other options for the Iranians who have fled and are staying in third countries, such as Turkey.
Amid nationwide protests, ignited by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September, economic hardship and uncertainty about their future, more and more Iranians are emigrating, and Canada is one of the top destinations. However, since going directly to Canada needs a long process in addition to money, many have to go to nearby countries. The accelerating exodus is not limited to medical and engineering professionals anymore as many business owners have also started to transfer their businesses to neighboring countries where business is easier.
Fraser also talked about the sanctions and inadmissibility provisions on Iranian individuals connected to the Islamic Republic and especially to the Revolutionary Guard. He insisted that anyone the top 50-percent regime officials would not be admitted. He explained that in addition to their list of sanctions on specific individuals, Ottawa is also putting in place regulations that can track down such individuals inside Canada and remove them from the country.
Canadian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Rob Oliphant told Iran International late in January that Ottawa needs to have a coordinated front against the atrocities of the Islamic Republic and the IRGC, both inside Canada and abroad.
He said the quickest action the Canadian government can take is limiting the activities of the Islamic Republic “through both the immigration act as well as through the special economic measures act that targets sanctions on those in the IRGC who are most directly responsible for the atrocities which they are committing on behalf of the regime.”
Groups of pensioners and workers from the bakery union, steel companies and sugar factories among others continued their strikes, that started during the week as bad news about rising prices daily jolted ordinary people.
Bakers held a gathering in Tehran, while workers of Haft-Tappeh Sugarcane complex in the southwestern Khuzestan province, the Esfahan Steel Company in central Iran, and workers in several southern cities, where most of oil and gas companies are located, were on strike.
The steel company’s strike, which started Saturday, went through the night while security forces used water cannons to disperse the protesting workers, but they gathered again and stopped the work of more sectors, as well as the night shift in the sprawling complex, a protester told Iran Interntional. According to him, parts of the Esfahan Steel Company are closed, and the governor of the city has visited the steel mill. He added that no cameras are allowed in the company and the place is swarming with security forces. The company, called Zob Ahan in Persian, is directly controlled by the country’s Ministry of Industries and Mines, and is Iran's third largest steel producer and is the largest factory producing steel for construction.
Some of the retirees of the company also gathered in front of the company’s pensioners fund building on Sunday to protest against their conditions. In videos released to social media of the rally in provincial capital Ahvaz, people are heard chanting slogans such as “Leave Syria, solve our problems!”
In some other cities of the oil-rich province such as Shush, Shushtar, and Dezful as well as the central city of Kerman, pensioners held rallies and chanted slogans.
Even the veterans of the Iraq-Iran war held a gathering on Sunday and asked for their overdue pensions.
On an accelerating freefall in recent days, the rial lost value on Sunday to touch over 600,000 against the US dollar but bounced back a little to retreat again. The rial’s plunge to 575,000 Saturday exacerbated chaos in several of Iran's major markets and brought many businesses to near standstill.
The government’s official rate of over 420,000 for the dollar on Saturday meant very little. Availability of foreign currency at that rate is very limited, which drives buyers to the black market, leading to speculations that the Central Bank of Iran injected a vast amount on Sunday to slow the devaluation.
However, the government is also incapable of major changes in the market as is itself strapped for cash, sending Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian to neighboring countries to find ways for funneling foreign currency through them.
An informed Iraqi source told Iran International on Thursday that the recent trip by Amir-Abdollahian to Baghdad was focused on ways to retain the flow of foreign currency from the neighboring country. Washington has imposed new restrictions on dollar transfers to Iraq as the Arab country’s banking officials believe there is widespread money laundering sending funds to Iran and Syria.
According to Iran International sources, the IRGC’s Quds (Qods) force is laundering money for the regime with cooperation from the Islamic Republic’s embassy and several cover companies to take revenues from oil and gas exports back to Iran. The laundering network is managed under the supervision of Hamed Abdollahi, the commander of the Quds Force Unit 400 of the IRGC, which directs terrorist operations abroad. Some of the members of his family and a former IRGC official Mahmoud Hassani-Zadeh work in the operations.
Earlier in the month, Iran International obtained information that the Islamic Republic is suffering from heavy financial losses because such a large amount of its money is blocked in Iraq by US banking sanctions.
The rial fell from 35,000 to more than 600,000 against the US dollar in exactly five years. This led to very high inflation, officially at more than 50 percent, which has impoverished tens of millions of Iranians. An Iranian economist says the role of US sanctions in causing economic chaos in Iran has been significant.