Ex-Iranian diplomat warns of growing war risk with US

Witnesses told Iran International that the body of a 50-year-old man who went missing during protests in central Iran was hard to identify because of severe head injuries, and that he was buried quickly under orders from authorities without a public funeral.

The man, identified as Nasser Movahednia, disappeared on the evening of Jan. 8 after joining protests in the town of Fooladshahr, near the central Iranian city of Isfahan, the outlet said, citing eyewitnesses.

According to the witnesses, security forces fired toward the group he was with, injuring one of his brothers, who returned home that night. Mohedenia did not return and was reported missing.

The witnesses said his family searched for him for a week without receiving any information, until they were asked on Jan. 14 to go to a morgue to identify bodies.

They said his body was difficult to recognize because of severe blows to the head.

The witnesses said authorities handed over his body the next morning and ordered that it be buried quickly without a funeral or public ceremony.

Witnesses told Iran International that a 28-year-old man was shot dead by security forces earlier this month during protests in a neighborhood of Isfahan, a major city in central Iran, in an incident they said took place in front of his mother and grandmother.

The man, identified as Pedram Saeidi, was killed on the evening of Jan. 9.

According to the witnesses, security forces pursued him toward his home before shooting him from behind. He died at the scene.

The witnesses said security forces took his body away after the shooting, and his family did not know where it was being held for several days.

They said the body was returned to the family four days later.

A senior commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the country’s armed forces were at peak readiness, following recent protests that were met with a violent security response.

Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi, deputy commander of the Guards, said the capabilities of Iran’s armed forces were “very strong” and that they were in a state of full operational readiness.

“The threats from enemies have always existed. They are not just for today or yesterday,” Vahidi said, according to state media.

A senior Iranian lawmaker said parliament should pass more effective laws to support the country’s police, including legal backing, better equipment and improved living conditions for officers, after security forces used heavy violence against protesters.

Ebrahim Azizi, head of the national security committee in Iran’s parliament, said parliament saw it as its duty to support the police force of the Islamic Republic through legal, logistical and welfare measures.

“Legal support for police missions, stronger equipment, and attention to livelihoods, housing and welfare services for personnel are among parliament’s priorities,” Azizi said.

A 37-year-old physiotherapist and clinic founder was shot dead during protests in Iran earlier this month, and his family was later forced to pay money to retrieve his body, a source familiar with the matter told Iran International.

The source identified him as Masoud Bolourchi, a Tehran-based physiotherapist and founder of Rush Physiotherapy Clinic, and said he was shot from behind on Jan. 8.

According to the source, his family later located his body in Kahrizak, south of Tehran, and were pressured by security officials into paying what was described as a “bullet fee” before it was released.

Bolourchi had studied in Budapest, Hungary, and had returned to Iran several years ago, the source said.