Iranian President calls Western nations enemies of Islamic revolution, blames them for anti-govt protests

Tehran: “The enemies of the Islamic revolution will not achieve their goals,” said Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, accusing the US and Western countries of igniting anti-government protests in Iran by spreading rumours and misinformation. “The enemies of the Islamic revolution will not achieve their goals and sow discord among the Iranian people by spreading lies,” Raisi said in Tehran during a meeting with the veterans of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war. “Young people are our children and everyone who is deceived will be welcomed by their homeland, but there is no mercy for the traitors,” the Iranian president said. As per Raisi, “hypocrites, monarchists and counter-revolutionaries, all those against the Iranian government” were involved in organising disturbances and unrest that erupted in Iran in mid-September. Protests have been reported in Iran since mid-September after 22-year-old Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, allegedly died in police custody after being arrested by police under the country’s Islamic regime’s stringent hijab laws. According to Iranian officials, Amini was detained by the police for not wearing her headscarf properly. She later suffered a heart attack and died. Meanwhile, the Iranian government has charged around 100 protesters who were arrested for protesting against the country’s Islamic regime, with offences that warrant the death sentence. A report released by an Oslo-based rights group - Iran Human Rights - identified at least 100 people facing the threat of potential capital punishment of which 11 had already been sentenced to death. The list also includes five women. Iran has already executed two men for having participated in the protests in the regime’s push to suppress the agitations. Iran’s prosecutor’s office, earlier this week, said that about 83 per cent of protesters who were detained by police and security services had been released by the authorities. As per a report by news agency Tasnim, “over the past three months, judges overseeing the cases of the protesters visited prisons 2,239 times and had personal conversations with the detainees.” The United States, on 26 December, urged Iran to unconditionally release all protesters. US Department of State Spokesman Ned Price emphasied that this is about “all people imprisoned in Iran for peacefully exercising their freedoms.” Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.