attempts by the Pasdaran to take over the warehouse they used to distribute aid to quake victims, according to opposition-linked web-sites.
The Pasdaran arrested about 40 volunteers after their attempt to take over the warehouse was repelled, according to Saham News, a website linked to former reformist presidential candidate Mehdi Karrubi. Kaleme website, linked to another former reformist presidential candidate, Mir-Hossain Musavi, corroborated the report with eyewitnesses accounts saying “50-60 officials in 10 vehicles” carried out the arrests.
The Pasdaran have reportedly insisted that all aid must flow through their organization, although relief efforts are actually primarily handled by the Red Crescent.
A New York Times reporter recently traveled to the quake zone with a group of student volunteers operating on their own. They expressed a fear of arrest by officials opposed to informal volunteer efforts, but the Times said they were never interfered with as they distributed goods they had collected.
President Ahmadi-nejad, who was much criticized for flying to a meeting in Saudi Arabia soon after the quake, visited the quake zone 13 days after the twin earthquakes—6.4 and 6.3 magnitude—hit Eastern Azerbaijan province 11 minutes and 11 kilometers apart August 11.
The authorities have still not updated the death toll of 306 announced two days after the quake even though local reports tell of numerous bodies dug out of the debris since then.