Iranian authorities have arrested three people after four deaths were linked to the consumption of bootleg alcohol in the southeastern city of Iranshahr.
State media reported that the victims died within a twenty four hour period, while five others were hospitalised after drinking homemade liquor. A local medical official told IRNA that two of the survivors remained in intensive care.
Iran outlawed the sale and consumption of alcohol following the 1979 Islamic revolution, a ban that has fuelled a widespread underground trade. Much of the illicit supply is produced in unsafe conditions, often resulting in batches contaminated with toxic additives.
The latest incident follows a long pattern of deaths and mass poisonings tied to homemade alcohol in different parts of the country.
Police in Iranshahr said they had traced and arrested three distributors believed to be connected to the latest batch. Under Iranian law, only recognised non Muslim minorities such as Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians may produce and consume alcohol, and even then only in private settings.
The country continues to take a strict line on alcohol related offences. Last week authorities suspended footballer Armin Sohrabian after a video circulated online showing him holding what appeared to be an alcoholic drink.
In a separate case in October 2024, four people were executed after being convicted of selling contaminated alcohol that killed seventeen people the previous year.
