Shiraz Protests: Agents Might Have Set Banks on Fire Themselves

December 30, 2019

10 min read

Shiraz Protests: Agents Might Have Set Banks on Fire Themselves

An eyewitness going by the name of Niusha (not her real name) gave her account of events in Shiraz. According to her, on the morning of Saturday, November 16, people had turned off their cars along the beltway to the industrial park and had blocked the road. By noon a large number of people had gathered in Namazi Square and started chanting. They sat on the crosswalks and prevented cars from getting through. “At that time their chants were only about the high price of gas,” she says. “Both men and women were protesting, but women were more active. They were telling the anti-riot police, ‘you are part of the people and you must not beat them.’ The distance between the people and the anti-riot police was very narrow, perhaps a meter.”

Niusha says that for two or three hours the streets leading to Namazi Square were blocked and no clashes took place. But then it appeared as though the police received new orders and suddenly attacked people with plastic bullets and teargas from a very short distance. “The people escaped and the slogans they chanted became more extreme. Some of the young people started throwing stones at the riot police.”

According to Niusha, that same evening two banks, Keshavarzi and Mellat, were on fire near Basij Circle. People watched them burn but there was no sign of firefighters. Some eyewitnesses said that security agents themselves had set the banks on fire.

More banks were set on fire on Nader Street between the Paramount Crossroad and Airport Circle on Sunday afternoon. “They broke the windows of all the banks on Nader Street, including Maskan Bank that took a long time to break into because it was not easy to break its door,” Niusha said. “They brought everything out into the street and set it on fire.”

On Paramount Crossroad anti-riot police protected a large gas station and were not attacking people. But when people broke the door to Bank Maskan and brought items from the bank out onto the street, the police were joined by auxiliary forces used teargas against people. “Some were saying that the agents themselves were responsible for setting banks on fire so that they would have an excuse for attacking people,” Niusha said.

She said that at first people dispersed, but when the riot police moved away they gathered again at another intersection along Nader Street. This time, however, they chanted anti-government and anti-regime slogans that had nothing to do with the increase in gas prices.

According to Niusha, whenever the anti-riot police attacked the people, plainclothes agents armed with hunting guns loaded with pellet bullets followed them, as though the anti-riot police were there to give them cover. “Little by little there were more anti-riot police and more teargas. At one of the intersections of 30-Meter Street, three private sedans drove through three streets and after about 100 meters they stopped the cars lengthwise across the street. A few plainclothes agents got out from each sedan, each carrying a hunting rifle, and started shooting with pellet bullets. In other words, they bottled the people at the intersection and shot at them.”

A man going by the alias Saeed said that on the morning of Sunday, November 17, the city was very disorderly and, after 5pm, people were burning tires in most streets, and there were clashes between the police and the people. The police were completely absent from many areas, including Zerehi, Farhang Shahr, Ghouri Park, Shiraz Beltway and the road to Marv Dasht. All these thoroughfares were completely blocked and were under the control of the people.

Saeed said that at around 7pm, a lot of shooting could be heard close to Moali Abad Bridge and at the end of Chamran Street. “You could hear shooting until 10pm when I was in that area. My friends told me that at the same time there were heavy clashes going on within the limits of Valfajr township in Amir Kabir Avenue.”

Golestan Township: They set fire to the seminary and pictures of Khomeini and Khamenei

“At sunset of Saturday, November 16, protesters were throwing stones at a Basij base in Golestan township and in front of the base, they burned a car that belonged to a Basiji,” said another eyewitness, going by the name Sahand. Golestan township is located at the westernmost part of Shiraz. At the entrance to the township is a large shopping center and, for this reason, many banks have branches in the square where the town starts and on the main boulevard that continues on to apartment houses at the town’s highest point.

At 5pm on Saturday a thick cloud of smoke rose from one of the town’s squares. Smoke could be seen coming from Bank Shahr, which was on fire. According to Parinaz (an alias), a large crowd had gathered around the square: “A woman who had covered her face was standing and chanting slogans such as ‘Death to Khamenei’ and ‘Death to the Islamic Republic’ and the crowd responded. Then the crowd moved up the road and on their way they broke all charity contribution boxes, ATMs and the windows of Bank Saderat.”

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Golestan township, sundown, Saturday, November 16. People chant “Death to the dictator!”

Then, said Parinaz, one person in the crowd started shouting, “Let’s go to the seminary on Sangi Boulevard. Let’s kick the butt of the mullahs.” The crowd set out for the seminary and 10 minutes later reached the Ambassadors of Guidance Seminary. “Within 20 minutes the seminary was on fire. A few people entered the seminary, dragged out whatever they could and set it on fire, including pictures of Khomeini and Khamenei. When the crowd saw the pictures that were to be burned they cheered. Nobody was inside the school except the caretaker and nobody bothered him.”

In an interview with Islamic Republic News Agency, Ostovar Meymandi, the head of Fars province’s seminaries, confirmed Parinaz’s account [Persian link]. He said the seminary of the Ambassadors of Guidance was completely consumed by a fire that was set at around 5pm and that it had been completely destroyed. Also destroyed were all the students’ records, copying machines and other equipment.

According to Parinaz, even then there was no sign of security forces even though the crowd had been told that a number of security agents were close by. But at around 6pm, only half an hour after the seminary was set on fire, a large number of security forces armed with guns and teargas grenades entered the town. “They drove around the township a few times but left without engaging in any clashes,” Parinaz said. “Then the rain started and people dispersed.”

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Nationwide protest, Golestan township near Shiraz. People chant anti-government slogans

According to Parinaz, people gathered again at the same square from 9pm and started chanting. Bank Maskan was the only bank that was not set on fire because the upper floors were residential apartments, but inside, the bank was destroyed. “Also people did not attack the Basij base on Sangi Boulevard because it was near a residential complex and they said that the noise and the possibility of shooting would terrify the neighbors,” Parinaz said. Security forces returned to the township and this time they attacked the protesters. “Around midnight, when the whole township was controlled by the people, security forces arrived in large numbers and attacked people with teargas and pellet bullets. Many were injured.”

By Sunday morning, Golestan township was under the control of security forces. “There was a security agent on every meter of the town,” Parinaz said. “Many were arrested on Sunday.”

In an interview with IranWire, a teacher claimed that the people were not responsible for the destruction in Golestan township [Persian link]. “The floor above Bank Resalat in our area was a residential apartment,” said the teacher. “People came toward the bank but did no damage. They said that they would not destroy people’s homes. Less than 10 minutes later the Basijis and the Revolutionary Guards arrived and laid siege to people. The security agents themselves set fire to the bank with the residential apartment above it. They wanted to put the blame on the people and portray them as rioters.”

Gouyom Township: Random Shots Fired at People

A resident of Gouyom township in Shiraz going by the name Javad said the world needed to know only one thing to understand why the people in the township have the right to hate the government and to find any opportunity to protest. “Unemployment, poverty and political repression aside, Gouyom township has been legally a borough of the city of Shiraz for the last seven years but still does not have a gas distribution system, whereas Shiraz has had one for more than 50 years.”

According to Javad, this hate is directed at the seminaries as well as the government. Imam Hasan Seminary in Gouyom was one of at least four seminaries in Fars province that were set on fire during the protests [Persian link]. It is not yet known whether the protesters were responsible for these acts of arson or whether it was the work of security forces agents who wanted to justify their brutal crackdown on the protests.

Javad said that on Sunday, after Gouyom’s seminary was set on fire, the protesters came under gunfire from the roof of the Basij base in another part of the town. One of the casualties was Amir Alvandi, who was shot in his chest. “They first took him to the Abu Ali Sina Clinic in Gouyom near Ardakan Highway. Amir had lost a lot of blood and they could not do anything for him. So they took him to the Organ Transplants Hospital in Sadra, which is not very far from Gouyom, but Amir had died before reaching the hospital.”

According to Javad, on Monday night the security forces clamped down on Gouyom. More than 20 motorcycles and an anti-riot police vehicle entered the township and immediately started firing shots in the air and batting their shields to terrorize people. “Then they started shooting randomly with pellet bullets. Many were injured, including a person by the name of Hasan Sadeghi who was shot in his eyes with pellets. These forces remained in the township till around 2am. Their commander announced with a loudspeaker that if anybody left his home he would be shot without warning.”

Javad said that arrests in Gouyom started the same night and continued, on and off, for a few more nights. “They drove around in three [Peugeot] 405 sedans and the head of Gouyom’s Basij accompanied them to identify the protesters.”

Golshan Township (Koshan): People controlled the township for four days

Very little is known about the protests in Golshan township. The town had previously been a poor village called Koshan, but was renamed after it was incorporated into the greater Shiraz metropolitan area.

According to Amir Salar (an alias), who lives in Isar, near Golshan, from Saturday November 16 to Wednesday November 20, the township was controlled by the people. Security forces and the police were kept out because people had piled up garbage and tires at the entrance to every street and alley. “Until Monday afternoon I saw no anti-right police around Koshan. Around noon on Monday around 20 motorcycles, each with two riders, and an anti-riot vehicle approached Koshan from the direction of Mehdieh township and Valfajr but they retreated when the protesters quickly showered them with stones. On Monday night shots were heard but I do not know whether anybody was killed or not. At night, from 12pm till dawn, neither people nor security agents were on the street. This situation lasted until Wednesday.”

According to Amir Salar, the entire beltway was blocked by cement blocks ripped from the curb, decayed bodies of scrapped cars and cut-down tree trunks. Every day from 2am municipality workers started clearing the beltway, but when at noon protesters would begin blocking it again.