Today, March 27, police dispersed crowds that had gathered at the Pakistan Embassy in Tehran to demand the release of border guards kidnapped by militants hiding in Pakistan. A similar protest was permitted in the city of Mashhad. Meanwhile, Iranians are criticizing the administration for its response to the crisis, which has increased tensions between Iran and Pakistan.

After Iranian officials confirmed that one of the five border guards held by Islamic militants had been killed, Iranians organized a protest over social media to be held in front of the Pakistan Embassy at 3 pm today. However, the organizers were not given a permit to protest and those who showed up were forced to leave the embassy by security forces.

Many Iranians online were angered that a similar protest was allowed to be held at the Pakistani consulate in the city of Mashhad. Both gatherings were peaceful, and appeared to be organized by concerned Iranians not linked to any political groups. They held pictures of the five border guards sitting against a mud wall, an image provide by the Baluch Sunni extremist group Jaish al-Adl, which has demanded the release of hundreds of prisoners in Iran and Syria in return for the guards.

Drawing another comparison, some Iranians questioned why when Basiji students wanted to protest in front of the Austrian Embassy for allowing Catherine Ashton, the high representative of the European Union for foreign affairs and security policy, to meet human rights activists, police forces did not object and had a heavy presence to make sure the protest took place smoothly.