These protests led to clashes between security forces and the dervishes, resulting in the bloody repression of protestors.
[7] The United States called the repression of the Dervishes the largest repression of religious minorities in the Islamic Republic, while the Ministry of Interior of Iran called the protests a plot to expand its scope to the national level by creating regional unrest.
[8] The Ni'matullāhī, or Gonabandi, are a Sufi order; the Iranian government considers them a threat.
[10] In January 2012, at least 10 of the group's members were imprisoned in Fars province, and others may be held at Evin Prison in Tehran, including Kasra Nouri[10][11] On 19 February, the Sufis organized a sit-in protest at a police station, located in the Pasdaran district of Tehran, where one of their members was held.
[12] However, the Sufi dervishes gathered around the home of their 90-year-old leader Noor Ali Tabandeh to protect him from arrest.