Iran’s president said protesters should be “decidedly dealt with” following nationwide anti-government unrest sparked by the death of a young woman in police custody.
Authorities have been cracking down for days on the protesters who are angry at the death of 22 year old Mahsa Amini. She had been arrested for allegedly wearing “inappropriate attire”.
Iranian State television suggests 26 protesters and police have been killed since the violence erupted last weekend. Other reports put the figure as high as 35.
President Ebrahim Raisi said Iran must “decisively deal with those who oppose the security and tranquility of the country”, state media reported.
State-organized rallies were held in several Iranian cities on Friday to counter anti-government protests, and the military vowed to confront “the enemies” behind the unrest.
Mr Raisi’s comments came during a condolence phone call to the family of a security guard stabbed to death in the northeast city of Mashhad, allegedly by anti-regime protesters.
The president “stressed the need to distinguish between protest and disturbance of public order and security, and described the events… as a riot”, according to state media.
Vice police arrested Ms Amini last week, saying she did not properly cover her hair with a headscarf – known as a hijab – which is compulsory for Iranian women.
Ms Amini, who was Kurdish, collapsed in a police station in the capital Tehran, fell into a coma, And died three days later at the hospital on Friday, September 16.
Authorities said she allegedly had a heart attack, but her family reportedly said she had no history of heart disease.
And according to her father, Ms Amini suffered bruises to her legs while in police custody. He said he held the police responsible for his death.
Mahsa Amini. Photo: Center for Human Rights in Iran
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During the street protests, women played a prominent role, defying the country’s Islamic dress code, waving and burning their veils.
Some publicly cut their hair as angry mobs called for the downfall of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Protests have spread to most of the country’s 31 provinces, including Tehran.
An overturned police car is seen on fire in Bojnurd, Iran
Iranian Police Chief Hossein Ashtari issued a harsh message in an attempt to stop the protests.
“People’s security is our red line,” he told state television.
“Those who are involved in sabotage and creating insecurity based on directives from outside the country must know that they will be severely punished.”
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi speaks at the UN on September 21
The morality police are attached to Iranian law enforcement and their role is to ensure respect for Islamic morality as described by the country’s religious authorities.
Anti-government protests are unlikely to pose an immediate threat to leaders, whose security forces have crushed similar protests in recent years, analysts say.
But the protests have clearly made authorities nervous.
