Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran Supreme Leader, is pointing accusing finger at the United States and Israel over the protests which has engulfed the country after the demise of a young woman while in Police custody.
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| A portrait of Mahsa Amini being held by a protester during a demonstration in support of Amini, who died after being arrested in Tehran by the Islamic Republic’s morality police. Photo: OZAN KOSE/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES via HUFFPOST |
On the unrest, in his first comments in public, the Iran Supreme Leader said, “riots” had been “engineered” by the country’s arch-enemies alongside their allies.
Since his rule for a decade, the protests are currently the biggest challenge and has charged the security forces to be prepared for more.
The US said it was “appalled” by the use of violence to the protests.
22-year old Mahsa Amini, fell into a coma on September 13, after hours of being held in the custody of Morality Police in Tehran, for allegedly breaching the strict law, which requires women to cover their hair with hijab, or headscarf.
Mahsa Amini died three days later.
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| Iranian demonstrators taking to the streets of the capital Tehran during a protest for Mahsa Amini, days after she died in police custody. Photo: AFP via GETTYIMAGES via HUFFPOST |
Her family has alleged that officers chose to go violent on her by hitting a baton on her head as well as banging her head against the body of one of their vehicles.
However, the Police have come out to say there is no evidence of any sort of mistreatment and that she suffered “sudden heart failure”.
Following Mahsa Amini’s burial, women have led protests across the country, waving their headscarves in the air or setting them on fire and shouting “Woman, life, freedom” and “Death to the dictator”.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while addressing a graduation ceremony of police and armed forces cadets on Monday, said, Mahsa Amini’s death “broke our hearts”.
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| people run away from anti-riot police during a protest over the death of a young woman who had been detained for violating the country’s conservative dress code, in downtown Tehran. Photo: AP via HUFFPOST |
He further said, “but what is not normal is that some people, without proof or an investigation, have made the streets dangerous, burned the Quran, removed hijabs from veiled women and set fire to mosques and cars.
“I say clearly that these riots and the insecurity were engineered by America and the occupying, false Zionist regime [Israel], as well as their paid agents, with the help of some traitorous Iranians abroad.”
