Interior minister: Security situation in Iran’s W border cities calm

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Vahidi warned, however, that despite the calm prevailing in the cities bordering Iraq, terrorist and separatist groups on the other side of the borders seek to incite turmoil in those regions, urging officials to stay on alert.

The security concerns, he added, was raised during talks with new Iraqi Prime Minister Shia al-Sudani, who visited the Iranian capital on Tuesday.

Vahidi also said a fact-finding committee has been formed to investigate the scale of damage caused and the losses of innocent lives during the recent protests and deadly riots.

The interior minister also said many of those arrested were from different foreign countries.

Several Iranian cities, especially those in border regions, have witnessed a series of terror activities amid on-and-off protests and deadly riots in the country.

The unrest and ugly riots erupted in mid-September as many were protesting the death of an Iranian woman in police custody.

In a statement in late October, Iran’s main intelligence bodies elaborated on the role of foreign parties, particularly the US, Saudi Arabia, Israel and the UK, in fueling the violence in Iran.