ISW: Attacks on Iranian clerics could create fissures between clerical establishment and regime

Attacks on Iranian clerics increased during the past month, which may reflect broader public antipathy to the regime's sociocultural and economic policies, said the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Report informs.

“Unidentified individuals have attacked clerics in four separate incidents in April, marking a four-fold increase in violence against religious figures compared to January, February, and March 2023,” ISW said.

According to the institute, the Iranian regime has increased the pace of state executions, which could reinvigorate anti-regime sentiments in Sistan and Baluchistan Province: “Iranian authorities executed at least 42 citizens within the past week including 19 Iranian-Balochs, an ethnic group that predominantly lives in Sistan and Baluchistan Province. The regime's discrimination of Iranian-Balochs has historically sparked anti-regime sentiments and activity within the province.”