Almost three weeks after the February 11th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, when anti-riot forces and paramilitary Basij clashed with supporters of the Green Movement in the streets of Tehran, it appears that the biggest arrest ever in Iranian history took place on this day.

The website of the Green Movement (‘Jaras’, www.rahesabz.net) is reporting a unique situation. According to this site, Tehran’s police headquarters reported “two thousand” cases of arrests on February 11th. This corresponds with news about arrests in internal bulletins of the Revolutionary Guards (‘Sepah’ in Farsi), paramilitary forces and the police.

On the other hand, the chief of Tehran province security affairs, Mr. Ghasemi, unveiled that 500 thousand people from small cities and villages in the province of Tehran have been brought to the capital on February 11th, to support the government orchestrated celebration of the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.

The website of Mizan Khabar (a liberally oriented reformist website, www.mizankhabar.net) reported that during a dinner with employees of the Tehran province security organization, Mr. Ghasemi said: “We needed a massive army of people to overcome the presence of the Greens. On February 11, celebration activities in villages and cities around Tehran have been canceled, and free transport has been arranged. We sent 500 thousand of supporters of the Islamic Republic to the festivities in Tehran and by doing so, we surprised the Green troublemakers.” He added: “We didn’t want June 15th to be repeated” – referring to the day when 3 million supporters of the Green Movement marched in the streets of Tehran to protest against the results of the presidential elections of June 12th, 2009.