The supreme leader spoke for the first time in public since the start of the protests and expressed solidarity with the police
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, the great Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, points the finger at the United States and Israel for the ongoing protests in Iran. And he accuses Washington and Tel Aviv of organizing the demonstrations that exploded in at least 140 Iranian cities after the death of Mahsa Amini, arrested by the moral police in Tehran on charges of misusing the Islamic veil, the hijab.
“The riots in Iran were organized by the United States and the Zionist regime,” Khamenei said in his first public address since the outbreak of the revolt on 17 September. Khamenei then expressed support for the Iranian security forces, saying they found themselves dealing with injustices during the protests.
“If it hadn’t been for this girl, they would have created another excuse to create insecurity and riots in the country on the first day of Mehr this year – added Khamenei -. The American regret (for the death of Mahsa Amini) is a lie, on the contrary they are happy to have found an excuse ». Thus reiterating that “the recent incidents were engineered by America, the Zionist regime and their followers”, he argued that “their main problem is having a strong and independent Iran and the progress of the country.” The spiritual guide, however, added: “The Iranian nation has appeared quite strong in these events and will courageously enter the field wherever it is needed in the future”. She then expressed solidarity with “the country’s law enforcement agencies, the Basij” who, together with the “Iranian nation, have been offended more than anything else”.
During his speech, the Shiite leader said he was “deeply saddened” by the girl’s death and that the protests were not planned and carried out by Iranian citizens. “The death of the young girl is a tragic accident that saddened everyone. But the right reaction is not to create insecurity, burn the Koran, mosques, banks, cars and remove the veil from women ”. These are the words of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic on his Twitter account. “These are not normal actions. They are planned actions “
The young girl’s death was a tragic incident that saddened us too. But the right reaction to it wasn’t for some to create insecurity for ppl, burn the Quran, Mosques, banks, & ppl’s cars, & to pull off women’s scarves. These weren’t normal acts. They were planned.#MahsaAmini
– Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) October 3, 2022
Khamenei this morning attended a ceremony at Imam Hassan al-Mujtaba’s Police and Officers University. Access to social media was repeatedly banned during the protests.
Associated Press reports that the president of the Iranian parliament Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf seriously fears for the stability of the country. The current protests, according to the politician former mayor of the capital Tehran, are different from those that have taken place in recent years. In the past, teachers and retirees demonstrated for better salaries, higher pensions, improved public services, but it was still a matter of reforms. The protest against the hijab has spread like wildfire in Iran, has garnered great international support and above all points to regime change. Qalibaf called on the protesters to calm down and not to allow their protest to turn into destabilizing and overthrowing the institutions.
In addition to women, Iranian students are also protagonists of the riots. The latter have intensified their protests in response to the repression of the security forces, who on Sunday evening cornered and shot some students of a prestigious university in Tehran, the Sharif University of Technology, as reported by the Iranian news agency. Mehr.
#Iran #Khamenei #protests #organized #United #States #Israel