Iran accuses U.S. of trying to use unrest to undermine country

DUBAI, Sept 26 (Reuters) – Iran accused the United States on Monday of utilizing unrest triggered by the loss of life of a girl in police custody to attempt to destabilise the country, and warned it might not go unanswered, as the largest protests since 2019 confirmed no indicators of abating.

Iran has cracked down on nationwide demonstrations sparked by the loss of life of 22-year-old Kurdish lady Mahsa Amini after she was detained by morality police imposing the Islamic Republic’s strict restrictions on ladies’s costume.

The case has drawn worldwide condemnation. Iran stated the United States was supporting rioters and looking for to destabilise the Islamic Republic.

“Washington is always trying to weaken Iran’s stability and security although it has been unsuccessful,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani informed Nour information, which is affiliated with a high safety physique, in a press release.

On his Instagram web page, Kanaani accused the leaders of the United States and a few European international locations of abusing a tragic incident in help of “rioters” and ignoring “the presence of millions of people in the streets and squares of the country in support of the system”.

Germany summoned the Iranian ambassador in Berlin on Monday over the crackdown, a German overseas ministry spokesperson stated.

Asked in regards to the chance of additional sanctions on Tehran in response to the unrest, the spokesperson stated “we will consider all options” with different European Union states.

Last week, the United States imposed sanctions on Iran’s morality police over allegations of abuse of Iranian ladies, saying it held the unit liable for the loss of life of Amini.

Iran summoned the British and Norwegian ambassadors on Sunday over what it referred to as interference and hostile media protection of the unrest.

The anti-government protests are the most important to sweep the country since demonstrations over gas costs in 2019, when Reuters reported 1,500 individuals had been killed in a crackdown on protesters – the bloodiest bout of inside unrest within the Islamic Republic’s historical past.

At least 41 individuals have been killed within the newest unrest that began on Sept. 17, in accordance to state TV.

President Ebrahim Raisi has stated Iran ensures freedom of expression and that he has ordered an investigation into Amini’s loss of life.

STRIKE CALL

A essential Iranian lecturers’ union, in a press release posted on social media on Sunday, referred to as for lecturers and college students to stage the primary nationwide strike for the reason that unrest started, on Monday and Wednesday.

Women have performed a distinguished function within the protests, waving and burning their veils.

In a video circulating on social media, the sister of a person killed within the anti-government demonstrations, Javad Heydari, reduce her hair on his grave in defiance of Iran’s conservative Islamic costume code. Reuters couldn’t confirm the authenticity of the video.

The state has organised rallies in an try to defuse the disaster.

Although the demonstrations over Amini’s loss of life are a significant problem to the federal government, analysts see no rapid risk to the country’s leaders as a result of Iran’s elite safety forces have stamped out protests up to now.

Iran has blamed armed Iranian Kurdish dissidents of involvement within the unrest, significantly within the northwest the place most of Iran’s up to 10 million Kurds stay.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards launched an artillery and drone assault on Iranian militant opposition bases within the Kurdish area of northern Iraq, the semi-official Tasnim information company reported.

Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Additional reporting by Rachel More in Berlin; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel, Christian Schmollinger, Alex Richardson and Alison Williams

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