TEHRAN: Iranian authorities have arrested 35 people in a raid on a “satanist network gathering” in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, local media reported Saturday.
The raid took place after police had “identified the location” of the gathering, which featured “signs and symbols of satanism, alcohol and drugs,” ISNA news agency said.
Raids on so-called “satanist” gatherings are not uncommon in the deeply conservative country, often targeting parties or concerts with alcohol consumption, which is largely banned in Iran.
A total of “31 men and four women at the venue” were taken into custody and referred to judicial authorities, ISNA said quoting Ruhollah Yaarizadeh, police chief in Khuzestan’s Dezful city.
In May, police arrested more than 250 people including three Europeans west of the capital Tehran over similar charges.
A 2007 raid on an unauthorized rock concert near Tehran saw some 230 people arrested.
Authorities in the Shiite Muslim-dominated country have in the past branded rock and heavy metal music concerts as “satanist” gatherings.
Iran arrests 35 in raid on ‘satanist gathering’: media
https://arab.news/w8rp9
Iran arrests 35 in raid on ‘satanist gathering’: media
- The raid took place after police had “identified the location” of the gathering
- A total of “31 men and four women at the venue” were taken into custody
Israel agrees to ‘limited reopening’ of Rafah crossing: PM’s office
- The announcement came after visiting US envoys reportedly pressed Israeli officials to reopen the crossing, a vital entry point for aid into Gaza
JERUSALEM: Israel said Monday it would allow a “limited reopening” of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt once it had recovered the remains of the last hostage in the Palestinian territory.
The announcement came after visiting US envoys reportedly pressed Israeli officials to reopen the crossing, a vital entry point for aid into Gaza.
Reopening Rafah forms part of a Gaza truce framework announced by US President Donald Trump in October, but the crossing has remained closed after Israeli forces took control of it during the war.
The Israeli military also said it was searching a cemetery in the Gaza Strip on Sunday for the remains of the last hostage, Ran Gvili, a non-commissioned officer in the police’s elite Yassam unit.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the reopening would depend on “the return of all living hostages and a 100 percent effort by Hamas to locate and return all deceased hostages,” Netanyahu’s office said on X.
It said Israel’s military was “currently conducting a focused operation to exhaust all of the intelligence that has been gathered in the effort to locate and return” Gvili’s body.
“Upon completion of this operation, and in accordance with what has been agreed upon with the US, Israel will open the Rafah Crossing,” it said.
