Iranian protests: Death toll rises to 21, Khamenei blames ‘enemies’, Trump attacks Obama, Haley calls for freedom
The Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed Iran’s “enemies” on Tuesday for stirring up unrest in the country as anti-government protests continue and the death toll rose to 21. U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley addressed the deadly protests in Iran Tuesday at the United Nations.
“The Iranian dictatorship is trying to do what it always does, which is to say that the protests were designed by enemies. We all know that is complete nonsense,” Haley said on Tuesday.
Speaking for the first since the demonstrations erupted last Thursday, Khamenei accused the nation’s enemies of “joining forces” and blamed them for the protests that have turned violent.
“The enemy is waiting for an opportunity, for a flaw, through which they can enter. Look at these events over the last few days. All those who are against the Islamic Republic — those who have money, those who have the politics, those who have the weapons, those who have the intelligence — they have all joined forces in order to create problems for the Islamic Republic and the Islamic Revolution,” he said.
anti-regime protests in the Iranian city of Rasht on December 29, 2017 (Twitter video screenshot)
“The people of Iran are finally acting against the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime,” Trump tweeted today.
“All of the money that President Obama so foolishly gave them went into terrorism and into their ‘pockets,'” he continued, referring to the Iran nuclear deal. “The people have little food, big inflation and no human rights. The U.S. is watching!”
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Tuesday tweeted that Iran would not allow “infiltrators” to sabotage protests.
“Iran’s security and stability depend on its own people, who — unlike the peoples of of Trumps regional ‘bffs’ — have the right to vote and to protest,” Zarif tweeted. “These hard-earned rights will be protected, and infiltrators will not be allowed to sabotage them through violence and destruction.”
Rouhani slammed Trump for a similar tweet Monday in which the US leader said the Iranian people were “repressed” and that it was “TIME FOR CHANGE!”
Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani accused the US, UK and Saudi Arabia of using hashtags and social media campaigns inside Iran to incite riots.
“Based on our analyses, around 27% of the new hashtags against Iran are generated by the Saudi government,” Shamkhani said
