The Iranian regime’s media outlets in Iran, quoting the spokesperson for the State Security Forces Command, reported that during the 12-day war with Israel, 21,000 people were arrested “based on public reports.” The head of the regime’s judiciary had previously announced the arrest of more than 2,000 people in connection with Iran’s regime’s war with Israel.
Saeed Montazerolmahdi, spokesperson for the Law Enforcement Command of Iran’s regime, said on Tuesday, August 12, that during the 12-day war, the cyber police (FATA) handled and solved more than 5,700 cases of cybercrime, “including online fraud and unauthorized withdrawals.”
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According to him, the cyberattack on the Nobitex cryptocurrency exchange was also swiftly investigated.
Without giving further details, Montazerolmahdi reported the “foiling of a plan to gather at Palestine Square with the aim of carrying out aerial and drone operations,” saying that police stopped this action “before it happened.”
During the 12-day war, a gathering was held in Palestine Square in support of Iran’s regime’s war objectives.
Contradictory Figures on Prisoners Escaping from Evin Prison
According to Montazerolmahdi, “In the Evin Prison incident, the northern Tehran security-police unit arrived at the scene in less than five minutes.”
He said, “127 political and security prisoners who intended to escape were arrested. Also, two prisoners who attempted to escape disguised in firefighter uniforms were identified and detained.”
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Asghar Jahangir, spokesperson for the judiciary, had said on July 22 regarding the Evin Prison escapes after the Israeli bombing, “The departure of the prisoners is not considered an escape, and most of them were open-sentence inmates with minor offenses. In this incident, 75 people left, of whom 48 have returned, and the remaining 27 do not have major or security-related crimes and will return soon.”
According to the spokesperson for the Law Enforcement Command, during this period, 262 people were arrested on suspicion of espionage and 172 on charges of unauthorized filming, while 30 special security cases were identified through the examination of mobile phones seized from suspects and detainees.
The 12-Day War and Foreign Nationals
The state-run Fars News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reported on June 25 that 700 foreign nationals were arrested during the 12-day war. However, Montazerolmahdi later gave new figures, saying that 2,774 undocumented foreign nationals were identified and arrested during this period, adding, “The examination of these individuals’ mobile phones showed that they had taken videos and photos of high-altitude areas and sensitive locations and had sent location data.”
This comes while Mohammad Manan Raeisi, the regime’s MP from Qom, said in a July 15 interview with the IRINN state TV channel, “Based on reliable information, among the spies of Israel, there is not even a single Afghan migrant.”
Crime Statistics When Tehran Was Emptied
According to Montazerolmahdi, “During the crisis period,” the rate of solved to committed thefts increased by 48.8%, while theft incidents decreased by 15.5%. “The solving of violent crimes grew by 85.9%, and the occurrence of these crimes dropped by more than 20%. The rate of murders decreased by 23.3%, and the percentage of solved murder cases was reported to be over 90%.”
Although this SSF official did not specify exactly which time period these tenth-of-a-percent precision statistics referred to, public reports during the war indicated that many residents of the capital had left Tehran.
On June 15, the third day of the 12-day war, the state-run Fars News Agency reported that the Tehran SSF Command building was targeted by Israel. After that, until the end of the war, numerous social media posts from citizens indicated that the police emergency number 110 had been out of service.
The spokesperson for the SSF Command said that police identified 147 social media pages “belonging to individuals known as thugs” who had expressed joy over Israel’s attacks, adding, “During this period, 30 individuals who supported Israel’s attacks on social media were arrested, and judicial cases were opened for 35 others.”
