NCRI – The Commander of the State Security Forces (SSF) in Greater Tehran and his Deputy of Command Operations have said that the reason for the presence of large numbers of security forces around the Iranian capital is attempts to conduct a maneuver to improve security, the state-run ISNA news agency reported on Thursday.
Worried about the prospect of further popular protests, the deputy, Colonel Khancharli, dismissed any links between the stepped up security with the anniversary of the regime’s sham presidential elections in June 2009, which created an opportunity for massive anti-regime rallies.
According to ISNA, the SSF Commander of Greater Tehran, Hossein Sajedinia, referred to the reason for police presence at Enqelab and Azadi streets (both major protest centers), saying, “The Greater Tehran’s police forces carried out an exercise on June 9 starting at 9 in the morning in order to assess the speed and accuracy of these forces during certain operations.”
However, the maneuver was clearly planned as a way to intimidate potential demonstrators and especially young people before protests scheduled for June.
“Fortunately, the agents appeared on the scene of operations in 20 minutes, which proves their agility and speed of action,” Sajedinia exclaimed.
The SSF commander also said that police forces were stationed in designated locations around Enqelab Street and some major squares in the capital, adding, “Yesterday’s exercise was done as a preparation for special scenarios that warrant police presence.”