Iran’s moderate President Hassan Rouhani reacted Feb. 21 to the recent flaring of tensions between Gonabadi dervishes and security forces, saying he will not tolerate any violent behavior toward law enforcement officers.

Clashes between dervishes and security forces in Tehran reached a climax Feb. 19, when a supporter of the Gonabadi order reportedly rammed riot police with a bus, killing three officers. Two members of the Basij militia were also killed in separate but related incidents — one was rammed by a car while the other was stabbed to death.

The clashes led to the arrests of 300 dervishes and left 30 officers injured. According to some reports, three dervishes were also killed — though this was later denied by the semi-official ISNA news agency.

Members of the Gonabadi order adhere to the Sufi branch of Islam, though they adhere to Shiite beliefs. The name of the order is derived from its base in the northeastern city of Gonabad. The recent clashes — one in a line of incidents over the years as the authorities periodically clamp down on the Sufis — erupted as a group of Gonabadi dervishes gathered in front of their grand master’s home in northern Tehran to protest the reported erection of a checkpoint in the neighborhood.