Tehran Residents Celebrate Persian Festival Amid Heightened Tensions

Naser Ravanpour

Tehran - The Islamic Republic's policy of negative propaganda against Chaharshanbe Suri, the Persian festival of fire, is an annual occurrence. But this year the police force and other security agencies have taken new measures in response to public calls for protest rallies.

These measures have been visible in Tehran and several other cities in the past few days.

In particular, the increased presence of motorcyclists, who appeared to be government forces, in central Tehran has drawn a lot of attention.

Leila was walking on Keshavarz Boulevard at around 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. She reported that many motorcyclists were taking turns on the sidewalks, preventing pedestrians from safely walking there.

She said that the motorcycle riders did not appear to belong to a special unit but looked like members of the paramilitary Basij organization and other forces close to the government.

Many Iranians celebrate Chaharshanbe Suri by setting off fireworks and lighting bonfires, defying a ban on the festivities imposed by the Islamic Republic.

This year’s celebrations come amid more than five months of nationwide protests demanding fundamental economic, social and political change, and demonstrators have prepared placards and asked people to join their rallies during Chaharshanbe Suri.

Along with Sizdah Bedar, Chaharshanbe Suri is one of the only collective festivals in Iran that has a social aspect and is held outdoors.

The Islamic Republic has tried to rebrand the annual Sizdah Bedar celebration as "Nature Day," while consistently taking an opposing stance toward Chaharshanbe Suri.

In the past years, the government's negative advertising mainly consisted of announcing statistics about the accidents occurring during the festival and showing graphic scenes on state TV.

This year, the Islamic Republic’s police commander Ahmadreza Radan said "we do not look at Chaharshanbe Suri as a security case" and that "we are with the people."

But he also warned that anyone trying to disturb security "will be our guest."

Abbas Ali Mohammadian, the police commander of Tehran, stated that the forces under his command will use mosques as temporary places of detention during the festival.

"At Imam Hossein Mosque, which is one of the Basij’s main bases in the eastern part of Tehran, I witnessed a large number of motorbike riders,” said Soran, a Tehran resident.

In Haft-e-tir Square, a peddler who sells firecrackers and other items traditionally used to celebrate Chaharshanbe Suri, said that he is trying to keep a low profile due to fears of plainclothes police officers who have been tasked with preventing the formation of protest groups.

Anti-riot police units on motorcycles are seen in some intersections and squares, but their presence is less conspicuous than in the past.

It remains unclear how security forces will respond to protests that are expected to rock several neighborhoods in a few hours.

A resident of the Ekbatan Town reported hearing people shouting slogans such as "Death to the dictator" and "This year is the year of blood, Seyed Ali is overthrown" from their windows, in a reference to the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.