Iran accuses U.S of plots to destabilize it

Iran has accused the United States of using protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody to try to destabilize the country.

Iran said the United States was supporting rioters and seeking to destabilize the Islamic Republic.

“Washington is always trying to weaken Iran’s stability and security although it has been unsuccessful,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani told Nour news, which is affiliated with a top security body, in a statement.

On his Instagram page, Kanaani accused the leaders of the United States and some European countries of abusing a tragic incident in support of “rioters” and ignoring “the presence of millions of people in the streets and squares of the country in support of the system”.

The death of Mahsa Amini, 22, after she was detained by morality police enforcing the Islamic Republic’s strict restrictions on women’s dress has caused nationwide demonstrations that have rocked Iran.

The anti-government protests are the largest to sweep the country since demonstrations over fuel prices in 2019.

Women have played a prominent role in the protests, waving and burning their veils.

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At least 41 people have been killed in the latest unrest that started on Sept. 17, according to state TV.

A main Iranian teachers union, in a statement posted on social media on Sunday, called for teachers and students to stage the first national strike since the unrest began, on Monday and Wednesday.

The state has organized rallies in an attempt to defuse the crisis.

Although the demonstrations over Amini’s death are a major challenge to the government, analysts see no immediate threat to the country’s leaders because Iran’s elite security forces have stamped out protests in the past.

Iran has blamed armed Iranian Kurdish dissidents for involvement in the ongoing unrest in the country, particularly in the northwest where most of Iran’s up to 10 million Kurds live.

Zainab Sa’id