Greater Tehrans police chief, confirming the arrests, announced that people caught distributing fireworks and sonic-booms would be identified and dealt with severely, the hard-line daily Kayhan reported on Saturday.
Brigadier General Morteza Talai said that quantities of fireworks were discovered and confiscated.
During the festival, known as chaharshanbeh souri literally, Feast of Wednesday people jump over bonfires to drive away evil. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, however, Irans theocratic leaders have made strenuous efforts to stamp out the festivities, but to no avail. In recent years, there have been extensive clashes between festive crowds and the security forces deployed to prevent street celebrations. This year the event falls on March 14.
Meanwhile, Irans main opposition group, the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MeK), has issued an appeal to people across the country to take part in the celebrations on the night and turn it into an anti-government protest.
Last year, despite the general ban Iranians across the country came out into the streets using the celebration as a pretext to express their anger towards the ruling theocracy. In several districts of Tehran effigies of Irans leaders such as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were burnt.
