Mass demonstrations under the slogans "Death to the US!", "Death to England!", "American mercenary unleashes religious war", "Khamenei (Iranian leader - TASS), order to start jihad!" began on Friday in the Iranian capital Tehran. According to the IRNA news agency, many people marched in protest against the riots, expressing their disagreement with the actions of the organizers of the anti-social actions and the rioters themselves.
According to Press TV, protest marches are taking place all over Iran and millions of people are participating in them. They condemn the desecration of the Quran, the burning of mosques and attacks on women wearing the hijab.
The riots have been erupting in Iran for nearly a week since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. On September 16, she was detained by morality police - subordinate organization that enforces Islamic dress codes - and taken to a police station. She later had a heart attack, and died in police custody. A surveillance camera recorded Amini passing out while explaining herself to the police. There is a video recording of the girl saying that no one touched her. However, it was reported on social media that Amini was beaten by police officers.
Tehran Governor Mohsen Mansouri accused several foreign embassies of "being involved in the riots." In an interview with the Tasnim news agency, he reported that Iranian authorities had detained nationals of three countries, but did not name them. Their participants attacked police officers, ripped off women's headscarves, and set fire to and destroyed public and private buildings. Several police officers and Basij militia fighters in the cities of Mashhad, Qazvin and Tabriz were killed.
The command of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, the elite units of Iran's Armed Forces) warned citizens about a plot to destabilize the country. For his part, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, speaking at a press conference Thursday in New York, where the 77th session of the UN General Assembly is taking place, called for identifying vandals from ordinary peaceful demonstrators.
Amjad Amini, the girl's father, spoke out against the riots in an interview with Tasnim and said that the family of the deceased awaits the announcement of the forensic results and the identification and punishment of those responsible: "These performances have nothing to do with us, they were not arranged on our behalf, and neither I nor my family is happy about it. Our only demand is the punishment of those responsible."
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: mostafa meraji/Pixabay
Based on materials from TASS