Iran detains dozens, warns of risk from ‘enemy’ during festival

Iran arrested 10 foreigners among dozens rounded up on suspicion of collaborating with Israel and the US, Iranian media said on Tuesday, as officials warned people to stay at home during a festival that they said could be exploited by “the enemy.”

Iran’s police chief Ahmadreza Radan said on Sunday that at least 500 people had been arrested since the start of the war pitting Tehran against Israel and Washington, accusing the detainees of sharing information with adversaries.

In addition to the 10 foreign individuals arrested in the northeastern Khorasan Razavi province, 55 people were detained in the southern Hormozgan province, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Tuesday.

The group of foreign individuals, whose nationality was not given in media reports, are accused of collecting information on sensitive sites and preparing field operations. The larger group arrested in southern Iran was presented as “mercenaries” of the US and Israel.

The ministry of intelligence tells state media that hundreds of Starlink systems, which some Iranians use to bypass an internet shutdown, were seized in a nationwide operation and reminded people that owning such technology could be subject to the severest punishments.

Meanwhile, the police chief also warned of the possibility that a popular festival held on Tuesday evening may see adversaries “create insecurity in the country.”

In January, the country saw nationwide anti-government protests, which were quashed in the biggest crackdown in the Islamic Republic’s history.

Chaharshanbe Suri (Scarlet Wednesday), an ancient Zoroastrian feast, is held on the eve of the last Wednesday of the Iranian calendar, with Iranians usually setting off fireworks and jumping over fires at their home courtyard or in the streets.

“The enemy may seek to cause accidents and even casualties with such actions in order to inflame the atmosphere in the country,” Radan said, according to state media.

A spokesperson for Tehran’s firefighters also called upon people not to go outside for the festival and instead celebrate at home.