Attacks hit sports venues and a water park used by security forces in Tehran
Attacks struck sports venues, police stations and a waterpark in Tehran used by Iran’s security forces for self-protection, Iran International has learned.
An anti-narcotics police station, another police station in southeastern Tehran and the municipal building of Tehran’s District 18 were among the locations.
Others included Be’sat and Azadi stadiums, the Shahidan Esmaili and Eskandarlou sports complexes as well as Azadegan water park.
The meeting comes two days after Iran International reported that the Assembly of Experts had chosen Mojtaba Khamenei as the next Supreme Leader under pressure from the Revolutionary Guards.
Two sources from the offices of Assembly of Experts representatives told Iran International that at least eight members will not attend the emergency session on Thursday in protest at what they described as “heavy pressure” from the Revolutionary Guards to impose Mojtaba Khamenei.
The first emergency meeting of the clerical body to choose a successor to Ali Khamenei was held on Tuesday, but ended prematurely after Israeli airstrikes targeted the Assembly building in the city of Qom.
According to sources, Thursday’s meeting will be held online and managed from a building near the shrine of Fatima Masumeh in Qom. Some representatives and members of the Assembly’s leadership board who live in Qom may attend in person.
Arguments by opponents of Mojtaba
Sources told Iran International that a group of opponents contacted the Assembly’s chairman and members of its leadership board on Wednesday, warning that declaring Mojtaba Khamenei leader could raise public concerns about the leadership becoming hereditary and the Islamic Republic resembling a monarchy.
“Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was not pleased with the idea of his son’s leadership and never allowed this issue to be raised during his lifetime,” one Assembly member told the chairman and members of the body’s leadership in calls, according to the sources.
Another member argued that Mojtaba Khamenei “does not have an established, public clerical and jurisprudential standing,” and for that reason his selection as the state's Supreme Jurist (Vali-ye Faqih) would lack religious legitimacy, the sources added.
These representatives called for Mojtaba Khamenei to withdraw and for a new vote to be held at Thursday’s session.
Some opponents also signaled that if Mojtaba Khamenei does not withdraw, they may consider the selection process "invalid," a step that could deepen divisions within the ruling establishment and intensify the Islamic Republic’s legitimacy crisis.
Tensions during first Assembly session
After the historic National Assembly building in Tehran –where the clerical body traditionally meets – was bombed on Monday, the first session to select Ali Khamenei’s successor was held online on Tuesday without public announcement.
Information sent to Iran International indicates that from early Tuesday, Revolutionary Guard commanders across different cities pressured Assembly members to vote for Mojtaba Khamenei through in-person meetings and phone calls.
Sources said repeated contacts and psychological and political pressure on representatives continued until minutes before the online meeting began, creating what they described as an “unnatural” atmosphere inside the session. The Assembly leadership board insisted the vote be held quickly due to the country’s security situation.
Several members opposed to Mojtaba Khamenei were given limited time to present their arguments, but the leadership board moved forward with the vote, cutting short further discussion.
A source close to one Assembly representative told Iran International that the atmosphere was initially heavy because of Revolutionary Guard pressure, but more representatives might have spoken against the move if more time had been allowed.
Sources said that after the vote and shortly before the count was completed, the Assembly building in Qom – where the online session was being managed – was struck in Israeli airstrikes and communications were cut.
Hours later, members of the Assembly were informed in phone calls that Mojtaba Khamenei had been selected as Supreme Leader by a majority of votes.
Legal questions and continued pressure
After the result was relayed to members, objections about how the legal process had been conducted surfaced in calls with the Assembly chairman and some members of the leadership board.
The leadership board then decided to delay the official announcement until a second session.
That second session is scheduled to take place online on Thursday and will be managed from a location near the shrine of Fatima Masumeh in Qom. Sources said the site was chosen because its religious significance could reduce the likelihood of an airstrike if its location became known.
Information received by Iran International also indicates that threatening pressure from the Revolutionary Guards to persuade opposing representatives has continued.
According to the sources, Guards commanders have been contacting and lobbying members directly to discourage them from boycotting the meeting or expressing public opposition.
Sources said the Guards argue that given the country’s “special conditions” and ongoing security situation, the new leader must be announced as quickly as possible and that any delay could worsen instability and deepen a decision-making vacuum at the top of the system.
Arash Tolou Sheikhzadeh was detained on February 6 when agents from the intelligence arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps raided his home about a week after he shared videos of protests held in Mashhad on January 8 and 9.
After several days without contact and with his phone switched off, his mother went to his apartment and found it ransacked, with broken windows and no sign of her son, a source close to the family said.
Guards intelligence officials later confirmed he was in custody but refused to allow visits or calls and warned the family to remain silent, saying their other son could face consequences if they spoke publicly, the source added.
Transfer to hospital in critical condition
On February 12, the family learned through a hospital contact that Arash had been transferred to Velayat Hospital in Mashhad with broken arms, legs and severe head injuries, including a damaged skull. He was admitted to intensive care with a level of consciousness of 2.5 and placed on a ventilator.
The first time his mother was allowed into the hospital, she could only see him from behind a glass partition after repeated requests, the source said.
“His head was bandaged, his hands and feet were bandaged, and he was completely unconscious,” the source said. “When she asked why her son was like this, the officer told her, ‘We did nothing. He had a stroke.’”
Family members said Arash had not been injured during the protests and had continued going to work in the days before his arrest.
Life support cut despite signs of improvement
Arash’s condition showed relative improvement during his stay in intensive care, according to a hospital source who contacted the family. His level of consciousness rose from 2.5 to 5 over three days.
Despite this, his ventilator was switched off on February 15, leading to his death, the source said.
“His condition was clearly getting better,” the source said. “But they turned off the ventilator and effectively killed him.”
When relatives went to the hospital after learning of his death, security personnel denied them access and told them he was alive and had been moved to another ward, the source added.
Burial under tight security
Authorities informed Arash’s mother on February 20 that his body would be handed over the next day. They imposed conditions including no autopsy, a quiet burial and attendance limited to immediate relatives.
“They said they would hand over the body. You are not allowed an autopsy. A quiet burial, only first-degree relatives. Wearing bright clothes, clapping, celebrating, dancing – none of that is permitted. Very quietly. Otherwise, we will not release the body,” the source said.
The body was delivered on Saturday, February 21, at Behesht Reza cemetery in Mashhad, where plainclothes and uniformed forces were deployed in large numbers. The handover was delayed beyond the announced time, the source said.
Despite warnings not to open the shroud, Arash’s mother and relatives briefly uncovered his face before burial.
“When they brought the body, his face was bruised and swollen and there was a clear baton mark on his fractured skull,” the source said. “They tortured him badly.”
A young man active on social media
Arash, born on December 14, 1988, lived alone in Mashhad and worked as a barista at a café. His Instagram posts showed an interest in social and political issues. He had used the hashtag “Revolution 1401” in support of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising and in one earlier post criticized what he described as superstitious religious beliefs, warning that ignorance lay at the root of many problems.
Arash’s mobile phone remains in the possession of Guards intelligence, the source close to the family said. Friends have noticed that his Instagram account appears to remain active, suggesting that security agents may be monitoring the social media activity of his contacts.
