Ayatollah Khamenei:

Enemies Mobilized to Harm Iran

TEHRAN (defapress) – In his first comments since the outbreak of unrest in some Iranian cities, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei warned on Tuesday that the enemies have mobilized all efforts to harm the Islamic Republic.

News ID: 67878

Date: 02 January 2018 - 21:09

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei

In a meeting with families of the Iranian martyrs on Tuesday, Ayatollah Khamenei said the fact is that the enemy has been always seeking to find an opportunity to infiltrate into Iran and harm the Iranian nation.

“In the recent days’ events, the enemies of Iran allied with each other by employing various tools at their disposal, including money, weapon, politics and security organizations, in order to cause problem for the Islamic Establishment,” the Leader said.

Ayatollah Khamenei described the Iranian nation’s courage, devotion and faith as the main factors in warding off the hostile moves.

The Leader then noted that he has more to say about the recent developments in Iran that will be told in proper time.

Some cities of Iran have witnessed rallies in the past few days in protest at price hikes and economic woes.

Police have arrested a number of demonstrators who were trying to damage public property in the gatherings.

According to Article 27 of the Iranian Constitution, “public gatherings and marches are allowed so long as the participants do not carry arms and are not in violation of the fundamental principles of Islam.”

In the recent demonstrations in Iran, 10 people have been pronounced dead, while unconfirmed reports suggest that the death toll has risen to 21 on Tuesday morning.

In Najafabad, a city in the central province of Isfahan, a rioter opened fire to police forces on Monday night, killing one and injuring three others with a hunting rifle.

President Hassan Rouhani has stressed that the united Iranian nation will stand firm against a small group of foreign-induced rioters that have tried to hijack recent peaceful protests in the country, saying any protest should be organized in compliance with the regulations.

The Intelligence Ministry has announced that its forces have identified and detained a number of elements behind the unrest, saying other agents will be arrested in coming days.