Key Points
- Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi has condemned the "rioters" behind a wave of women-led protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini
- The ultra-conservative president has accused Iran's arch-foe the United States of stoking the unrest.
Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi has condemned the "rioters" behind a wave of women-led protests sparked by while in the custody of the Islamic republic's morality police.
"Those who took part in the riots must be dealt with decisively, this is the demand of the people," he said in a televised interview.
"The enemy has targeted national unity and wants to pit people against each other."
The ultra-conservative president has accused Iran's arch-foe the United States of stoking the unrest.
Ms Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, died on 16 September, three days after she had been arrested for allegedly breaching Iran's strict rules for women on wearing hijab headscarves and modest clothing.
Mr Raisi said the nation had felt "grief and sorrow" over her death, and that forensics and judiciary experts would soon present a final report, but also warned that "protests are different to riots".
The protesters have chanted in Iran's biggest demonstrations in almost three years, in which
Their actions have been matched in solidarity protests worldwide.
Iranian Mahsa Amini was detained by police responsible for enforcing Iran's strict dress code for women and declared dead days later. Source: AAP / CLEMENS BILAN/EPA
An Iraq-based cousin of Ms Amini, who is a member of a Kurdish nationalist group, charged that she died after a "violent blow to the head" and that one officer had vowed to "instil the rules in her and teach her how to wear the hijab and how to dress".
As the Iranian protests have flared for 12 nights in a row, Iran's police command vowed its forces would confront them "with all their might", in a crackdown that one rights group says has already killed at least 76 people.
'Cowardly attacks'
Iran has blamed outside forces for the unrest, including "counter-revolutionary" Kurdish groups based in northern Iraq where the protests first flared.
In a major escalation, Iran yesterday launched cross-border missile and drone strikes that killed 13 people in Iraq's Kurdistan region, after accusing Kurdish armed groups based there of fuelling the unrest.
The attacks were condemned by the UN mission in Iraq, and the federal government in Baghdad summoned the Iranian ambassador.
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Amini case triggers violent unrest across the world
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The United States condemned the "brazen attacks" and Britain said Iraq's "indiscriminate bombardment" demonstrates "a repeated pattern of Iranian destabilising activity in the region".
Germany slammed the "escalation ... against the backdrop of domestic political protests in Iran" and rejected "attempts to locate the causes of the Iranian protests in the neighbouring country".
Iran plays down crisis
The Iranian government has sought to play down the crisis.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said he told Western diplomats at recent United Nations meetings that the protests were "not a big deal" for the stability of the clerical state.
"There is not going to be regime change in Iran. Don't play to the emotions of the Iranian people," he told National Public Radio in New York, also accusing "outside elements" of stirring up violence.
Fars news agency said Tuesday around 60 people had been killed since Ms Amini's death, up from the official toll of 41.
But the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights said the crackdown has killed at least 76 people.
The crackdown has drawn concern from the United Nations and condemnation from around the world, with Germany and Spain summoning the Iranian ambassadors and the United States and Canada announcing new sanctions.
