President Ebrahim Raisi promised this Tuesday that Iran will show “no mercy” to “hostile” opponents of the Islamic Republic, which has been home to more than 100 days of protests provoked by the death of Mahsa Amini.
The “riots,” as Tehran is calling the protests, were sparked by the September 16 death of the 22-year-old after being arrested for allegedly violating strict Islamic dress codes.
Addressing a crowd in Tehran, Raisi denounced “hypocrites, monarchists and all anti-revolutionary currents”.
“The embrace of the nation is open to all who are involved,” the ultra-conservative president said during a funeral procession for unnamed soldiers who died during the eight-year war with neighboring Iraq in the 1980s.
“The embrace of the nation is open to all, but we will show no mercy to those who are hostile,” he vowed.
Iranian authorities say hundreds have been killed, including members of the security forces, and thousands have been arrested across the country.
Overseas human rights groups estimate the death toll among the protesters at more than 450.
In early December, Iran executed two people associated with the protests. Another nine were reportedly sentenced to death, two of whom received a new trial.
Activists say about a dozen other defendants have been charged with crimes that could carry the death penalty.
Iranian officials have accused hostile foreign powers, including the United States and some European countries, of fueling the country’s instability. They are trying to “distract Islamic society from its high goals” by “spreading rumors and dividing society,” Raisi said.
Foreign countries are “wrong” in thinking they would achieve their goals, the Iranian president argued.
Source: DN
