Adam Marakov
Iran’s leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded on Monday to the biggest protests in Iran in years. He accuse the United States and Israel of planning the protests. Khamenei said he was “heartbroken” by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody, calling it a “sad incident”. But he sharply condemned the protests as a foreign plot to destabilize Iran.
TEHRAN OCTOBER 3: Iran’s leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded publicly on Monday to the biggest protests in Iran in years, breaking weeks of silence to condemn what he called “rioting” and accuse the United States and Israel of planning the protests.
Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei born 19 April 1939, is a Twelver Shia marja‘ and the second and current supreme leader of Iran, in office since 1989. According to his official website, Khamenei was arrested six times before being sent into exile for three years during Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s reign.
As Supreme Leader, Khamenei is the most powerful political authority in the Islamic Republic. He is the head of state of Iran, the commander-in-chief of its armed forces, and can issue decrees and make the final decisions on the main policies of the government in many fields such as economy, the environment, foreign policy, and national planning in Iran.
Speaking to a cadre of police students in Tehran, Khamenei said he was “heartbroken” by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody, calling it a “sad incident.” However, he sharply condemned the protests as a foreign plot to destabilize Iran, echoing authorities’ previous comments.
“This rioting was planned,” he said. “These riots and insecurities were designed by America and the Zionist regime and their employees.”
One of the burdensome and important tasks that the good Ayatollah is behind, among other things, is the issuing of a fatwa declaring women who ride bicycles haram (forbidden). This important fatwa was made in June 2021.
Images: khamenei.ir & Matt Hrkac
