The exercise of 30,000 policemen in Tehran
Published: Friday, November 14, 2008
12:30GMT—7:30AM/EST
EXERCISE – POLICE – TEHRAN
Washington, 14 November (IranVNC)—Tehran’s Law Enforcement Force [LEF] started a six-day exercise called “Security and Tranquility Exercise” on Monday 20 Aban [10 November], with 30,000 policemen taking part.
According to Amir Kabir University of Technology’s student newsletter, quoting Azizollah Rajabzadeh, the commander of Tehran’s LEF, the aim of this exercise across Tehran involving 55 helicopters and 4,000 automobiles and motorcycles is: “to promote security, instruct the people, protect of special sections, fight terrorism, carry out defensive operations, air-drops, tactical marches, deploying operational units in the city, and drills to confront natural disasters.”
Rajabzadeh said the first three days of the operation included “trainings to be given in mosques, schools and guilds by commanders of various district police offices,” and he noted that district police offices remained open throughout the city during the course of this exercise, and only in cases of emergency would they be moved to auxiliary locations such as mosques, schools and pre-fabricated metal kiosks.
These special operations, which were undertaken along ten different routes covering Tehran’s main avenues and highways, caused certain limitation to be placed on the movement of traffic in the capital city.
Although such operations and exercises in Tehran are unprecedented, Rajabzadeh said that these operations, which have required three months of preparation this time around, have taken place every year but have been conducted in a low-profile in previous years. LEF also announced that similar operations are to be conducted in Iran’s other major cities in the future.
According to Shahab news website, on the first day of the exercises, Esmail Ahmadi-moqaddam, said that although Iran is in an insecure and critical region, it has managed to create a safe island for itself, and that “Terrorists have not managed to reach their objectives” thanks to the readiness of the LEF and Iran’s security apparatus.
According to Fars news agency, in Tehran’s Azadi [Shahyad] Square and on the side-lines of the exercise being conducted, Ahmadimoqaddam on Friday said: “After having five days of the drill behind us, we have achieved 90 percent of our designed objectives.”
On 2 November, however, Abollah Araqi, the head of Tehran Province’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps [IRGC] announced that the Basij [paramilitary force] will resume patrolling the neighborhoods of Tehran during the late evening hours.
The Persian website of Al-Arabiyya television network carried a report entitled “Iran equipping itself to confront possible riots”. The report referred to warnings by Ali Kordan, the deposed interior minister, and Mohammad-Ali Rahimi, the commander of the IRGC, that this exercise was aimed at “countering the demand for democracy, secularism, the virtual and internet movement, the intellectual movement, superstition, the issue of feminism and modernism.”
According to the website of Iran’s Interior Ministry, during the final days in office, Kordan cautioned that such movements and also “ethnic nationalism, sectarianism, environmental protection movement, trade union movement, student movement and so forth” could become a security challenges to the system, in the future.
Sources: Amir Kabir University of Technology’s student newsletter, Fars News Agency, Al-Arabiyya in Persian, Iran’s Interior Ministry website
© IranVNC 2008. All rights reserved.
(Original article written in Persian.)