Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Saturday that “disruptors must be put in their place” after a week of protests that rocked the Islamic Republic, likely giving security forces the green light to aggressively crack down on the demonstrations.
Khamenei’s first remarks come as violence linked to protests over Iran’s poor economic situation claims at least ten lives. The protests show no signs of stopping and follow US President Donald Trump’s warning that the US will “come to the rescue” if Tehran “brutally kills peaceful protesters”.
Speaking to an audience in Tehran, Khamenei sought to separate the concerns of ordinary protesters over the rial’s collapse from those he called “disturbers of order”.
– We are talking to the protesters, the officials must talk to them – said Khamenei. “But there’s no use talking to troublemakers. Troublemakers must be put in their place.”
The supreme leader also claimed that foreign powers, such as Israel and the US, were behind the protests, without providing evidence, and blamed “the enemy” for the rial’s decline.
In the night before Saturday, two people died in a new level of violence. A hand grenade exploded in Qom, killing a man, while in Harsin, southwest of Tehran, a member of the Basij paramilitary organization was killed in a gun and knife attack.
The protests have spread to more than 100 locations in 22 of Iran’s 31 provinces, the US Human Rights Activists News Agency reports.
The civilian government under reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian is trying to show a willingness to negotiate, but the rapid decline of the rial is limiting options, which sparked the first protests.
The demonstrations started because of economic problems, but they also heard slogans against the theocratic government in Iran. In recent months, Tehran has failed to stabilize the economy, especially after the war with Israel in June, when the US bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Iran recently announced that it is no longer enriching uranium in the country, seeking to signal to the West that it is open to negotiations on its nuclear program and sanctions relief. However, those talks have not yet begun, with Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning Tehran not to renew its nuclear program.
(Vijesti.ba)
