Since the protest erupted in Iran over two weeks ago, the world has been waiting for the country’s leader to at least explain what truly happened and how the government is handling the situation. 

That wait is finally over, and the Supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said like every other person he was heartbroken by the death of Mahsa Amini, who died soon after she was arrested by the morality police for indecently wearing a hijab. 

Since her death, women, and men in Iran are demanding the resignation of the Supreme leader and demanding the right for women to choose whether to wear the hijab or not. Despite the government’s effort to stop the protests, it has only gone from bad to worse, as the death toll continues to increase. 

However, Khamenei failed to blame the morality police for the murder, rather, he blamed the United States and Israel for the unending protests in the country. 

“I say explicitly that these riots and this insecurity were a design by the US and the occupying, fake Zionist regime [Israel] and those who are paid by them, and some traitorous Iranians abroad helped them,” Khamenei said at a police university in Tehran, the country’s capital. 

The supreme leader said the pattern of the protests, which he described as “riots”, suggested that there were powerful forces adding fuel to the already burning fire. 

“When some come to make the streets insecure, burn Qurans, take hijabs off covered women, and burn mosques and people’s cars, they’re not a normal, natural reaction,” Khamenei stated. 

He said the United States and Israel were scared of what Iran would turn into and grabbed the opportunity of Amini’s death to destabilize the nation. 

“They feel that the country is progressing towards full-scale power and they can’t tolerate this,” the supreme leader said.

Hijab is not the issue

Miss Amimi was said to have been arrested by the morality police for wearing her hijab inappropriately. Although that act triggered the protest, 83-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei believes the protest was more than just a protest. 

“Many of the people who don’t have complete hijab are among the serious supporters of the Islamic Republic and participate in various events. The issue is over the independence, resilience, strengthening and the power of Islamic Iran,” the Iranian leader said.

Khamenei said he knows that Iranians had no issue with being loyal to the Islamic government, including the Kurdish people, which is the tribe of 22-year-old Amini. 

Misguided protesters

Interestingly, Khamenei did not use harsh words toward the protesters. He insisted that they were only misguided. The supreme leader said the protesters are causing harm to themselves by attacking the security forces, including the police that has the responsibility of protecting Iranians. 

“The ones who attack the police are leaving Iranian citizens defenceless against thugs, robbers, and extortionists,” Khamenei stated. 

Although the actual death toll remains unknown, rights groups put it at 13o. The figure includes policemen, members of the volunteer Basij militia, and other security forces, that are cracking down on the protests. 

Thousands of protesters have also been arrested, including foreign nationals. Hundreds have been injured as well.