Iran president calls Mahsa Amini’s death tragic, but condemns ‘chaos’ of protests
- Iran’s president responds to woman’s death two weeks ago that sparked anti-government protests
- He said ‘chaos’ was unacceptable and that people who took part in ‘riots’ must be dealt with decisively
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said that the death of a young woman in custody had “saddened” everyone in the Islamic Republic, but warned that “chaos” would not be accepted amid spreading violent protests over Mahsa Amini’s death.
Amini’s death two weeks ago has sparked anti-government protests across Iran, with protesters often calling for the end of the Islamic clerical establishment’s more than four decades in power.
“We all are saddened by this tragic incident … [However] Chaos is unacceptable,” Raisi said in an interview with state TV, while protests continued around the country.
“The government’s red line is our people’s security … One cannot allow people to disturb the peace of society through riots.”
Despite a growing death toll and a fierce crackdown by security forces using tear gas, clubs, and in some cases, live ammunition, social media videos showed Iranians persisting with protests, chanting “Death to the dictator”.
Still, a collapse of the Islamic Republic seems remote in the near term since its leaders are determined not to show the kind of weakness they believe sealed the fate of the US-backed Shah in 1979, a senior Iranian official said.