The sister of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reportedly written a letter condemning her brother’s “despotic caliphate”, also calling on the Revolutionary Guards to “lay down their arms”.
The comments by Badri Hosseini Khamenei, who lives in Iran, were shared by his French-based son on Twitter, according to Reuters. The comments come as the Middle Eastern country continues to be wracked by protests following the September death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while she was in police custody.
“I think it is appropriate now to declare that I oppose my brother’s actions and express my solidarity with all mothers mourning the crimes of the Islamic Republic, from the time of Khomeini to the current era of Ali Khamenei’s despotic caliphate,” Badri Hosseini Khamenei said in the letter, referring to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Iranian regime.
“The Revolutionary Guards and Ali Khamenei’s mercenaries should lay down their arms as soon as possible and unite with the people before it is too late,” the letter added.
FUTURE OF IRANIAN MORALITY POLICE UNCLEAR AFTER OFFICIAL COMMENT
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a televised New Year’s Eve speech, in Tehran, Iran March 21, 2022. A portrait of Iran’s late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini is shown at right.
(Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran via AP)
Iran has been rocked by unrest since the Sept. 16 death of Amini, who died in police custody after being arrested for not wearing a head covering in public.
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County leaders are also grappling with a three-day general strike movement that began on Monday.
Iranians protest the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was arrested by morality police, in Tehran on October 27, 2022.
(AP Images/Middle East, Files)
In posts circulating on social media, protesters called for businesses to shut down and called on people to stop using banks. The level of attendance was unclear, but in northern Tehran’s neighborhoods most shops were closed on Tuesday afternoon and there was a heavy security presence, according to the Associated Press.
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On Monday, the head of Iran’s judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejehi, ordered the arrest of anyone who encourages the strike or tries to intimidate shops into closing. According to Tasnim, authorities in the southern city of Shiraz have shut down a pharmacy after it reportedly refused to sell items to patients on Monday.
Iranians protest the death of Amini, in Tehran on October 1, 2022.
(The Associated Press)
The unrest following Amini’s death has become one of the greatest challenges facing the Iranian regime in decades, spreading across the country and showing little sign of slowing down despite police attempts to crack down on demonstrations.
Michael Lee of Fox News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
