Former Iranian president Ahmadinejad arrested for inciting unrest: reports

Authorities are now seeking to place Ahmadinejad under house arrest with Khamenei’s approval

The Iranian regime headed by Ali Khamenei has reportedly arrested former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Shiraz city for inciting unrest and more demonstrations following statements he made earlier.

Authorities in Iran are now seeking to place Ahmadinejad under house arrest with Khamenei’s approval, the Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper added, citing “reliable sources in Tehran”, Al Arabiya reports.

During a visit to Bushehr city late December, Ahmadinejad had said that Iran suffered from “mismanagement” and that current President Hassan Rouhani and his government “believe that they own the land and that the people are an ignorant society,” the newspaper reported.

“Some of the current leaders live detached from the problems and concerns of the people, and do not know anything about the reality of society,” they reported him saying.

Iran’s fifth head of the judicial system, Amole Larijani, had accused Ahmadinejad of inciting more protests, the same accusation directed at prominent Shia cleric and politician Mehdi Karroubi and former prime minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi which also lead to their house arrest.

In a videotaped statement, Ahmadinejad spoke about Larijani saying, “I have no children spying for the West, I have no brothers who are actively smuggling goods, and I do not steal land to raise my cattle.”

The protests currently sweeping Iran are being considered the largest challenge to the Iranian regime since the Green Movement uprising in 2009 after the re-election of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Protests that have rocked Iran have reached the eleventh consecutive day on Sunday. Activists protested last Friday under the slogan “The Friday of Anger for our Martyrs” referring to the 50 protesters who were killed so far by Iranian security forces, according to the opposition.

According to the government of Iran, the official number of deaths since the uprising is 22. However, opposition announced that the toll has reached 50 on Friday.

This article originally appeared on Al Arabiya.