Iranian authorities say opposition leader's attackers identified

Commander Hossein Sajedinia

Tehran chief of security forces, Commander Hossein Sajedinia, announced that they have identified 100 individuals from the mob that attacked the home of opposition leader, Mehdi Karroubi, and reported them to the judiciary.

According to Iranian media, Sajedinia said: “Police and the other appropriate bodies are to arrest them and we are currently awaiting the decision of the judiciary.”

ISNA reports that with regard to the connection of the attackers with government bodies, Sajedinia said: “I will neither deny nor confirm this; just let the judiciary decide about it.”

Mehdi Karroubi’s home was attacked by a group of plain clothes forces identifying themselves as the supporters of Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader. For five nights in a row, the crowd broke the windows and vandalized the building and even caused some injuries.

While the opposition attributed the attacks to the Revolutionary Guards and Basij forces, last week, a senior Revolutionary Guards commander condemned the attacks and claimed the assailants were acting arbitrarily and were in no way connected to government bodies.

Opposition leader, Mehdi Karroubi

Mehdi Karroubi issued a statement following the contentions of the Revolutionary Guards commander saying, the government first referred to the attackers as “pious, committed and supporters of the system”, and added that they “gave these attackers their stamp of approval with the presence of the security and political chiefs in the area.”

The opposition leader concluded that the statement of Revolutionary Guards denying connection with these attacks reveals that their “plans have been defused.”