Tehran: The administration of President Masoud Pezeshkian has launched a series of meetings aimed at identifying and assessing the root causes of the unrest that occurred in Iran in January, intending to prevent similar incidents in the future, Vice President Abbas Pazouki has announced. Pazouki, who serves as the president's deputy for communications affairs, made the announcement in a post on X on Sunday evening.

According to Islamic Republic News Agency, the first meeting was held earlier the same day under the chairmanship of First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref, with the participation of several cabinet members as well as a number of officials from outside the government. Pazouki stated that the meeting was part of the efforts directed by the president to review the January incidents comprehensively.

He added that additional meetings are planned to further examine the events of January 8 and 9 and to identify their underlying causes. The focus of these meetings is on conducting a thorough root-cause analysis, repairing social divisions, and preventing a recurrence of such incidents.

Pazouki highlighted that during the meetings, the first vice president engages with academics, elites, opinion leaders, and representatives of various social groups. This engagement aims to ensure that criticisms, viewpoints, and proposed solutions are heard directly.

Unrest erupted in Iran on January 8 after foreign-backed groups carried out terrorist acts in several parts of the country, including attacks that resulted in the deaths of civilians and security forces and the destruction of public and private property. The violence occurred amid protests that began on December 28 over rising living costs, at a time when the Iranian government was engaged in talks with representatives of the protesters.