Oct 11, 2018

Nearly three weeks have passed since a deadly terrorist attack targeted a military parade in Iran’s southwestern city of Ahvaz. Some say this attack was the result of negligence on the part of the military and security forces, with resulting calls for these organizations to be held accountable. This is a somewhat new concept in Iran, as the military and security forces have always been immune to criticism under the rationale that the country owes its security to them and that demanding such answers from this sector is out of bounds.

The Sept. 22 attack saw four terrorists open fire on an annual military parade, killing two dozen people and wounding over 90 others in the capital of Khuzestan province. An investigation was immediately launched to see why and how this attack had happened. Ali Sari, a member of parliament representing the city of Ahvaz, was the first official to demand accountability in a Sept. 24 interview with the government-run Iran daily. He said, “We have to frankly ask ourselves who oversees security and then ask them why this happened. After [last year’s Islamic State] attack on parliament, we did not question those responsible for maintaining security. But now that this bitter incident has happened again, they need to explain where the potential negligence stemmed from.” Sari also revealed that many residents in Khuzestan possess firearms, and that no one has done anything about it. He said military and security officials must also accept their negligence in this matter.

Meanwhile, parliament held a closed session Oct. 3 to examine the dimensions of the attack. During the session, Iranian security personnel announced that over 30 individuals of various ranks and positions who oversaw safety at the parade had been dismissed and referred to court. News of this announcement was made by member of parliament Gholam Ali Jafarzadeh Emenabadi, who highlighted the “weakness of intelligence and security observations” during the session.

Behrouz Nemati, spokesman for the parliament’s presiding board, said security officials presented a report during the Oct. 3 session. Nemati said, “The respective officials declared that undoubtedly the incident occurred partly due to the inaction of those in charge, and some of them have been referred to the courts.” He said apologies were made during the session, but did not clarify by which security, intelligence or military organization or official. The lawmaker went on to say, “Given the various takfiri groups in Iraq and Syria, there should be no holes to be exploited by the terrorists.” He said more serious measures need to be taken.

Ahvaz member of parliament Homayoun Yousefi also called on those responsible for not preventing or immediately stopping the terrorist attack in Ahvaz to provide answers, while also stopping short of naming a specific organization.