Tight Security Measures in Iranian Kurdistan, Raisi Pushes for Calm

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi surrounded by guards in a market in the city of Sanandaj on Thursday (Iranian Presidency)
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi surrounded by guards in a market in the city of Sanandaj on Thursday (Iranian Presidency)
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Tight Security Measures in Iranian Kurdistan, Raisi Pushes for Calm

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi surrounded by guards in a market in the city of Sanandaj on Thursday (Iranian Presidency)
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi surrounded by guards in a market in the city of Sanandaj on Thursday (Iranian Presidency)

As the twelfth week of Iranian protests approaches, President Ebrahim Raisi headed on Thursday to the capital of Kurdistan Province, Sanandaj, amid tight security measures in the city that has become the cradle of demonstrations in the west of Iran.

“During the recent riots, the enemies miscalculated in believing that they could cause chaos, insecurity, and riots,” said Raisi on the sidelines of his inauguration of a water supply project in Sanandaj.

“People are facing economic and social problems, but they know how to face the enemy with their solidarity,” added the president.

Raisi pledged that Kurdistan province would be a “major” destination for his upcoming visits.

Since September 17, the region has been rocked by more than 100 deaths during authorities’ crackdown to quell the protests sparked by the death of a young Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody.

Rage over Amini’s death turned into a popular uprising by Iranians from all walks of life, posing one of the most daring challenges to the ruling establishment since the 1979 revolution.

At least 459 protesters have been killed so far by security forces during the unrest in Iran, including 64 minors, according to the activist HRANA news agency.

The agency said that it is closely monitoring human rights violations in Iran. At least 18,195 individuals have been arrested in 157 cities and 143 universities that were stormed by anti-regime protests.

Raisi did not mention sending reinforcements from the Revolutionary Guard ground forces to Kurdish areas, but he said: “In Kurdistan, we stood against the counter-revolutionary groups. They tried to find a foothold for themselves, but the people of Kurdistan thwarted their efforts.”

“The brutality and cruelty of those behind the riots reminds us of the behavior of (ISIS),” the state-run ISNA news agency quoted Raisi as telling the family of one of the security forces killed in the protests.



France Plans to Take Iran to Int’l Court over Citizen Detentions

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot (R) during a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Ministers of Foreign Affairs meeting in Brussels, Belgium, 03 April 2025.  EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot (R) during a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Ministers of Foreign Affairs meeting in Brussels, Belgium, 03 April 2025. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET
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France Plans to Take Iran to Int’l Court over Citizen Detentions

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot (R) during a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Ministers of Foreign Affairs meeting in Brussels, Belgium, 03 April 2025.  EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot (R) during a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Ministers of Foreign Affairs meeting in Brussels, Belgium, 03 April 2025. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET

Two French citizens held in Iran for almost three years have not had consular services for more than a year prompting Paris to prepare a complaint at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), France's foreign ministry said on Thursday.
Cecile Kohler and her partner Jacques Paris have been held since May 2022. Iranian state television aired a video later that year with them appearing to confess to acting on behalf of French intelligence services, something categorically denied by Paris.
Held in Tehran's Evin prison, France has accused Iran of keeping them in conditions akin to torture.
French officials have toughened their language towards Iran, notably over the advancement of its nuclear program and regional activities, but also the detention of European citizens in the country.
Speaking after a rare cabinet meeting to broadly discuss Iran on Wednesday, France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot indicated Paris would soon take the matter of violating the right to consular protection to the ICJ.
"We are putting together a complaint that we will file at the ICJ," Foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine told reporters at a news conference on Thursday, adding that the Kohler and Paris were being held in "shocking" conditions.
According to Reuters, Lemoine declined to say when it would be filed and acknowledged that procedures at the ICJ were long, but insisted that Tehran needed to be called out on the issue because the embassy and consulate had not had access to their citizens for more than a year.
"It's in violation of Iran's obligations," he said, citing the Vienna convention on consular relations.
In recent years, Iran's Revolutionary Guards have arrested dozens of dual nationals and foreigners, mostly on charges related to espionage and security.
Rights groups have accused Iran of trying to extract concessions from other countries through such arrests.
Iran, which does not recognize dual nationality, denies taking prisoners to gain diplomatic leverage.