Islam Times - Ayatollah Khamenei: Recent Riots in Iran Orchestrated by US, Israeli Regime

Islam Times - The Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei reacted to the recent riots in the country, calling them plots by the US and Zionist regime.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony for military cadets at Imam Hassan Officer Training University on Monday morning, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said that these recent riots in the country are designed by the US and the Zionist regime and their acolytes.

"Their main problem is with a strong and independent Iran and the country’s progress. The Iranian nation proved to be fairly strong during recent events and will bravely come onto the scene wherever necessary in the future,” the Leader added.

“During the latest developments, injustice was done to the country’s law enforcement forces, the Basij, and the Iranian nation. Of course, the Iranian nation emerged completely strong as it did before and will do so in the future,” he noted.

Referring to the death of a 22-year-old girl, Mahsa Amini, the Leader said, "The incident deeply saddened us, but the reaction to this incident without investigation - coming to streets, removing other women's hijab, setting fire to mosques, hussainiyas, people's cars - was not normal.

Iran has witnessed incidents of street violence over the past few days in the wake of the death of Mahsa Amini in hospital after she was detained by police.

Despite clarification on the circumstances surrounding Amini’s death, violent protests led to attacks on security officers and acts of vandalism against public property as well as ambulances and police vehicles.

Emphasizing that these riots were planned, Ayatollah Khamenei said that if it was not the case of this young girl, they would have created another excuse to create insecurity and chaos in the country.

"I say explicitly that these riots and insecurities were designed by the US and the usurping and fake Zionist regime, and their mercenaries and some traitorous Iranians abroad helped them," the Leader noted, advising some political figures of the country to be vigilant about the foreigners' plots and plans.

Stating that the Americans' regret for the death of a girl is a lie, Ayatollah Khamenei said the heads of three branches of the country expressed regret over the incident [death of Mahsa Amini] and vowed to investigate the details of the incident.

Immediately after Amini’s death, Raeisi ordered Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi to investigate the details of the incident with “urgency and precision” and to submit a report on the results.

Pointing to the motivation of foreign governments to create chaos and insecurity in the country, the Leader said that they [foriegn govrenmnets] cannot tolerate a country that is progressing towards all-round power. "In order to stop the progress of Iranians, they have planned to close the universities and make the streets insecure and involve the authorities in new issues in the northwest and southeast of the country."

Emphasizing that the enemy is wrong in his calculations about the northwest and southeast of the country, Ayatollah Khamenei said the enemy seeks to create chaos and destroy the country's security.

The Leader went on to say that the US is not only against the Islamic Republic but also against a strong and independent Iran.