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TEHRAN: An Iranian reformist lawmaker said on Tuesday that some 3,700 people were arrested in the days of protests and unrest that roiled Iran over the past two weeks, offering a far higher number than authorities previously released.
The protests, which vented anger at high unemployment and official corruption, were the largest seen in Iran since the disputed 2009 presidential election, and some demonstrators called for the overthrow of the government. At least 21 people have been killed in the unrest surrounding the protests.
The official news website of the Iranian Parliament, icana.ir, quoted Mahmoud Sadeghi of Tehran as saying that different security and intelligence forces detained the protesters, making it difficult to know the exact number of detainees. He did not elaborate, nor did he say where he got the figure.
Previously, authorities have said “hundreds” were arrested in Tehran alone, not offering a total figure for arrests as the demonstrations spread into the Iranian countryside, including small towns.
Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli has said about 42,000 people at most took part in the anti-government protests. Sadeghi’s figure of arrested offered Tuesday would mean nearly 10 percent of those who demonstrated were arrested.
On Sunday, Tehran prosecutor, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, said that 70 of the detained protesters have been released on bail during the last 48 hours. He added that there would be more releases from detention, except for the main instigators of the riots who will be “dealt with seriously.”
Also Sunday, Iranian lawmakers held a closed session in which senior security officials briefed them on the protests and the conditions of the detainees, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
The recent protests saw some marchers chant against Iran’s foreign wars, demanding the government focus first on those at home.
Since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, Iran has expanded its presence across the Middle East. Tehran is accused of training insurgents in Iraq who targeted US troops with roadside bombs.
In Syria, President Bashar Assad appeared to be on the ropes until Iran fully entered the conflict. He held onto his presidency with Iran’s Quds force generals leading foreign fighters, as well Iranian-supported Hezbollah guerrillas from Lebanon.
In Yemen, the US and other Western powers accused Tehran of supplying Shiite rebels with ballistic missile technology.
Iranian authorities have said that the protests are waning. That is in part due to the government blocking access to the popular messaging app Telegram, which demonstrators used to share images of the rallies and organize. Authorities also have deployed additional police and members of the Basij, a volunteer organization affiliated with Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
It remains difficult for journalists and outsiders to piece together what is happening beyond Tehran, as Iran is a vast country of 80 million and travel there is restricted.
The US and Israel have expressed support for the protests, which began on Dec. 28 in Iran’s second largest city, Mashhad, but deny Iranian government allegations that they fomented them.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the ultimate authority in Iran, on Tuesday once again accused the US and “the Zionists” of fomenting unrest in the country.
“This will not go unanswered,” he said in a speech broadcast by Iranian media.
US officials and analysts studying Iran said they believe conservative opponents of President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate within Iran’s clerically overseen government, started the demonstrations in Mashhad, but quickly lost control of them.