Iranian President Ebrahim Raïsi called Thursday, December 1 in the province of Kurdistan, the cradle of the demonstrations which have shaken the Islamic Republic since the death of Mahsa Amini, to thwart "
the enemies
" of Iran whom he accuses of fomenting unrest in the country.
The 22-year-old from the Kurdish minority died on September 16, three days after she was arrested in Tehran by morality police who accused her of breaking the Islamic Republic's strict dress code.
“The enemies made a miscalculation”
The Iranian authorities accuse the United States, their sworn enemy, of sowing discord in their country, the scene of anti-government demonstrations since the death of Mahsa Amini.
They also accuse the Kurdish opposition abroad of encouraging the protest, triggered in the province of Kurdistan following the death of Mahsa Amini before spreading to the rest of the country.
"
During the recent riots, the enemies made a miscalculation believing they could sow chaos and insecurity
," said the Iranian president, launching the commissioning of a drinking water project in Sanandaj, chief place of the Iranian province of Kurdistan.
Read alsoIn the Middle East, the demonstrations of support for Mahsa Amini want to reshuffle the cards of the status of women
"
But they did not know that Kurdistan had sacrificed the blood of thousands of martyrs and that its inhabitants had in the past defeated the enemy
", he added in his speech broadcast by television, alluding to the war between Iran and Iraq (1980-88).
"
People are facing economic and social problems but they know how to face the enemy with their solidarity
," he said.
The Iranian president believed that "
the new generation in this region will act like their mothers and fathers who thwarted the plans of the enemy, and will not follow the will of the enemies, especially the United States
".
Dozens of people, mostly protesters but also members of the security forces, have been killed since the anti-government protests began.
More than 2,000 people charged
According to the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, more than 15,000 people have been arrested.
More than 2,000 people have been charged, half of them in Tehran, since the start of the protest, according to official figures provided by Iranian justice.
