Four individuals have been arrested in connection with a number of gruesome acid attacks on women that shocked and terrified the residents of Esfahan. According to initial reports from Morteza Mirbagheri, the deputy interior minister for Social and Cultural Affairs, “three to four suspects” were arrested. It is unclear why Mirbagheri did not provide the exact number of the suspects. Attempting to calm residents, Mirbagheri said, “Now there is no reason for concern over safety in Esfahan province.”

The first incident was reported Oct. 16. Men on motorcycles allegedly attacked women in their cars. Rumors immediately began to circulate that religious vigilante groups were targeting women with improper hijab. But as the acid attacks, which left the faces of their victims disfigured, increased, some Iranian media outlets reported that some of the victims were from religious families and were not improperly covered.

Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) has provided some of the best coverage, reporting, “This is not the first acid attack on our society, nor will it be the last,” blaming a “failure to decisively confront” criminals who engage in these types of crimes.

ISNA reported that unlike Iran's previous well known cases of acid attacks, which were motivated by personal reasons such as jilted lovers or family disputes, these ones by individuals on motorcycles were random.