TEHRAN — If one thing stood out at the reopening of the British Embassy in Tehran on Aug. 23, it was the immense number of police cars and special guards stationed along Ferdowsi Street. The last time there was this kind of security presence, all the way from Ferdowsi Square a few hundred meters to the north, it was in the turbulent aftermath of the disputed 2009 presidential elections.
The muscle flexing appears to have been in response to calls for a protest in front of the diplomatic compound made by members of the paramilitary Basij. This happened after news of the reopening of the embassy first began to spread through social media. Notably, Britain decided to cut its diplomatic presence in Iran in November 2011, after its embassy was stormed by hard-liners.
Al-Monitor was present at Ferdowsi Street on the afternoon of Aug. 23, when the Basij protest was slated to be held, and can confirm that the rally drew less than 70 people. Undoubtedly, the rally was one of the most unsuccessful experiences the Basij has had in organizing protests during the past two decades. Alireza, a 26-year-old Basij member who showed up for the rally and preferred not to disclose his full name, told Al-Monitor, “The UK is evil and has come to take our land. Next, it will be the US’ turn. We will not allow [President Hassan] Rouhani to sell out our country.”
Traditionally, gatherings held by Basij and the hard-line group Ansar-e-Hezbollah — including unlicensed protests — are met with a soft response from the police and special guards. This time, however, there was notable violence on the part of the authorities against Basij members, with pushing and kicking. A number of Basij members were also arrested and taken to police vans.
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