Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was reportedly arrested for “inciting violence” in Iran, meanwhile his son denies these reports as baseless.
The London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper reports Ahmadinejad was busted for comments he made during a December 28 protest in the western Iranian city of Bushehr.
Ahmadinejad, whom Iranian officials will seek to keep under house arrest with the approval of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was critical of the regime and President Hassan Rouhani.
“Some of the current leaders live detached from the problems and concerns of the people, and do not know anything about the reality of society,” Ahmadinejad said, according to the report.
He reportedly also accused the government of “mismanagement” and criticized Rouhani for believing “that they own the land and that the people are an ignorant society.”
News of the arrest of the 61-year-old Ahmadinejad, who served as president between 2005 and 2013, come as the Revolutionary Guard on Sunday said the protests had ended and again blamed the violence on the United States, Britain and Israel.
“Iran’s revolutionary people, along with tens of thousands of Basij forces, police and the Intelligence Ministry, have broken down the chain [of unrest],” the Guard said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Iranian journalist AlirReza Mataji wrote on his Twitter account yesterday evening that he has spoken to son of Former Iranian President – Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – and he has denied that his father was arrested “as Mr Najah Mohammad Ali [@najahmali], Ex-Iran Desk Editor in @AlArabiya Tv, reported to AlQuds Alarabi [@alqudsalarabi].”
Recall, the demonstrations erupted on December 28 over the soaring cost of food and eventually turned into protests against the ruling clerics and the lack of government support for working-class Iranians.
The discontent quickly spread across the country and led to the deaths of at least 22 people and the arrests of thousands, according to the government.
But its opponents said the death toll is closer to 50.
The protests were the largest in Iran since 2009, when massive crowds challenged the re-election of Ahmadinejad, believing it had been rigged.
