Dozens Detained Across Iran as State Media Labels Protesters “Riot Leaders”

State-run media in Iran, including outlets linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said on Thursday, January 22, that dozens of people have been detained in Shahroud, Shahr-e Rey, Hormozgan, and Kermanshah, with Tasnim News Agency describing those arrested as “leaders of the riots.”

Tasnim, quoting the Shahroud Police Force, stated that five “main leaders of the recent riots” in the region have been arrested. The same agency reported that the Shahr-e Rey Police Department announced the identification and detention of 100 “main agents and leaders.”

Tasnim carried the news of arrests in Hormozgan through the IRGC, with the province’s “Imam Sajjad” Corps claiming that 15 “leaders and influential agents” linked to the January protests were taken into custody.

According to the IRGC’s claims, these detainees played a role in the destruction of property and arson: “They had a direct role in attacks on military and police premises, as well as the arson and destruction of the Khalij-e Fars (Persian Gulf) and Kish Island broadcasting centers.”

Fars News Agency, which is also linked to the IRGC, cited the Kermanshah Intelligence Department as saying at least 54 people have been arrested in the province. According to Fars, those detained include 54 people described as “main field agents of the riots,” three accused of being “agents of counter-revolutionary terrorist groups based abroad,” four identified as an “armed cell” supporting Prince Reza Pahlavi, three allegedly “linked” to Israel, and four associated with “armed separatist groups.”

In recent days, state media, quoting the Police and the IRGC, have reported a wave of arrests across several Iranian cities. At the same time, state outlets have begun airing videos of forced confessions from detainees. This is happening as the Islamic Republic seeks to push its own version of events around the recent protests and the crackdown, cutting off internet access and using intimidation against independent media and news agencies.

While the exact number of people detained during the January protests is still unclear, sources told IranWire that arrests are widespread and the number of prisoners is very high, with human rights lawyers being denied access to many of these cases.