Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday urged police to manage public unrest with the least possible cost, over a month after a sweeping crackdown on protests in which more than 36,500 people were killed.
Speaking at a graduation ceremony for police cadets, Pezeshkian said authorities must maintain order while minimizing harm to security forces and civilians, as Iran continues to grapple with the aftermath of nationwide unrest.
“We must be able, as far as possible, to manage the country and society with the least damage and establish peace and security within it,” Pezeshkian said.
The protests were suppressed in a crackdown that left 36,500 people dead over two days in January, one of the deadliest episodes of unrest in modern history.
Pezeshkian said preventing unrest from escalating into crisis should be a priority.
“If there is dissatisfaction or a problem in society, we must not allow it to turn into a crisis. It must be prevented and treated,” he said. “In the third step, when an incident occurs, it must be managed with the minimum cost to the parties involved.”
At the same time, he stressed that those deemed responsible for disturbances should be detained firmly.
“You must manage the scene in such a way that the person who has created disorder is arrested with strength, authority and safety and handed over to the judiciary to be dealt with according to the law,” he said.
The president called for equipping police and security forces with new technologies to manage incidents without injury to officers, adding that the government would support law enforcement.
“We must not allow the health of our police forces to be put at risk,” he said. “All our efforts must be that none of you, as far as possible, are harmed in any scene.”
Iranian authorities have described the unrest as part of foreign-backed efforts to destabilize the country, while protesters have demanded political change and economic relief.
Pezeshkian said public security was essential and credited law enforcement as “the creators of security in Iran.”
