TEHRAN – A senior cleric who traveled to Zahedan on Sunday at the behest of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, has said that the Leader requested an accurate investigation into the recent incidents of the Sistan and Baluchistan province. 

Mohammad Javad Hajj Ali Akbari, the head of the Policymaking Council of Prayer Leaders and representative of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, traveled on Sunday to Zahedan, the capital of Sistan-Baluchistan province.

He was dispatched to the province in his capacity as an envoy from the office of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei.

In Zahedan, he met the prominent Sunni clerics, including Mowlawi Abdulhamid Islamail Zehi, the prayer leader of Zahedan's Makki Mosque.

In his meeting with Mowlawi Abdulhamid, the envoy underlined that criminals and those involved in riots in Sistan and Baluchistan will be dealt with decisively but those who acted out of excitement will be released soon. 

Hajj Ali Akbari also called on the local leaders to behave in a measured way and follow up on matters quietly. 

Sistan-Baluchistan province has been restive over the last weeks amid nationwide unrest that engulfed Iran in the wake of the death of Mahsa Amini. Dozens of people and security forces have lost their lives in the unrest in the province.

The envoy said the Leader was upset and concerned about the situation in the province and ordered a “thorough” investigation into what happened in the province. 

“The Supreme Leader's wish was to act based on what is obtained from the facts. Investigations were carried out and the results were concluded and decisions were made in the Supreme National Security Council,” the envoy said, according to IRNA. 

He added, “According to the explicit opinion of the Supreme Leader, people who were innocently hit will become martyrs and those who were innocently injured will be veterans and covered by the Martyr Foundation.”

Mowlawi Abdulhamid, for his part, presented a report on what happened in Zahedan, particularly the clashes around a police station in Zahedan where dozens of people were killed and injured. 

 According to IRNA, the prominent Sunni cleric said the people who were killed in front of the police station did not intend to take over it. He also said that they were not armed. 

More than a month ago, clashes erupted at the police station, which is located in the vicinity of Zahedan’s Makki Mosque. The chief of the station was later dismissed along with the chief police of the province.