The Iranian president said criticism of human and women’s rights should be aimed at the West, not Iran.
Tehran, Iran – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has denounced “enemies” for sparking unrest in the country and region during a ceremony to mark the 44th anniversary of the 1979 revolution that gave birth to the Islamic republic.
In a televised address to a crowd at Azadi (Freedom) Square in Tehran on Saturday, the president remained defiant in the face of criticism from the West, especially the United States, over his response. basis for the protests that began last September.
“I say to the enemy; Do you want to listen to people? These are the great people of Iran,” he asserted, followed by chants of “death to America” and “death to Israel” from the crowd.
Nationwide anti-government protests focus on making headscarves mandatory for women after the age of 22 Mahsa Amini passed away in the custody of the country’s ethics police on September 16. Since then, the protests have become the biggest challenge to the Islamic republic since the Green Movement in 2009 over protests. controversial election.
Re-emphasizing Iran’s claims that the West and its allies are behind the country’s unrest, Raisi said the country’s enemies have been unable to stop their progress, so they have turned to “chaotic project” that he said they have also attempted in the neighboring country. Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
“Those who were deceived by the enemy now know that the enemy’s problem is not women, life or freedom or human rights, but it wants to take away the independence and peaceful life of the Iranian nation, ‘ Raisi said when referring to the incident. “Women, Life, Freedom” slogans that defined the protests.
Responding to Western criticism that the Islamic republic violates human rights and women’s rights, the president said the Iranian establishment is better positioned to criticize Western behaviour.
“You use women as tools and make them commodities” while “you propagate the worst form of obscenity, that is, homosexuality,” he said.
Raisi added that the West “created, supported and armed ISIS. [ISIL]” while Iran fights it, and adds that Iran should not condemned for the nuclear program because it has no nuclear weapons, unlike its Western rivals.
State TV feeds hacked
During Raisi’s speech, the state television’s streaming site was interrupted by a video by an apparent group of hackers, which was displayed for a few seconds before the feed was restored.
“Die to the Islamic republic,” a masked woman says in a changed voice in the video, calling for more street protests and withdrawals from banks.
Throughout Saturday morning, state television broadcast live demonstrations and marches in many Iranian cities, also showing top politicians and military commanders taking part. Fireworks were set off across the country on the eve of the revolution.
In Tehran, the authorities also put on military displays, displaying several types of ballistic and cruise missiles along with armored vehicles and drones – including the Shahed-136 kamikaze drone that the West has seen. use. accused Russia of deploying troops in the Ukraine war.
Meanwhile, the day before the anniversary of the revolution, several figures opposed to the Islamic republic held joint meetings and press conferences at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.
The group, which includes Reza Pahlavi, the 62-year-old son of Iran’s last king who fled during the 1979 revolution, called for unity and an end to infighting between rival groups aimed at overthrowing the monarchy. current regime.
Iranian officials have yet to react directly to Friday’s conference, but they have previously denounced opposition groups and figures based abroad of trying to destabilize the country.
