Iran Executes 4, Condemns 5 to Death for Rioting

NICOSIA, Cyprus —  Iran executed four people and condemned five more to death for rioting in the southern city of Shiraz in a merciless crackdown on opponents of the Islamic republic.

The Iranian news agency IRNA Thursday said the rioters were thieves and hooligans and quoted an official as saying that any further disturbances would also be dealt with “decisively.”

The extent of the rioting this spring and the severity of the crackdown indicate that the government of President Hashemi Rafsanjani, which has leaned toward moderation in an effort to attract needed foreign investment, is deeply concerned.

At least 24 people have been executed as a result of the riots in April and May, said Ali Safavi, a spokesman for the Moujahedeen Khalq, the major group opposed to Iran’s Islamic government.

IRNA quoted Mohammed Karami, prosecutor of the Islamic revolutionary court of Shiraz, as saying 45 people had also been jailed for between four months and 10 years for their role in the April 15 Shiraz riots. Twenty people are still being tried.

Karami said the Shiraz riots, triggered by the ill treatment of disabled war veterans by security forces, had not been organized by groups seeking to overthrow Iran’s clerical leadership.