Iran President Ebrahim Raisi on Sunday (October 16) accused US President Joe Biden of ‘inciting chaos’ in Iran. Raisi’s statement came after Biden expressed support for nationwide protests in Iran that erupted after the custodial death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.
“The remarks of the American president, who is inciting chaos, terror and the destruction of another country, serve as a reminder of the eternal words of the founder of the Islamic republic, who called America the Great Satan,” Raisi said, referring to the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei.
“The enemy’s plot must be countered by effective measures to resolve people’s problems,” Raisi added, according to a presidency statement.
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22-year-old Mahsa Amini was detained by Iran’s feared morality police for her ‘inappropriate attire’. On September 16, three days after her detainment, Amini died. This led to protests that have now spread across Iran. The intensity of the protests is such that the protesters are even clashing with security personnel.
Iran government’s attitude has been to repeatedly denounce protesters by calling them ‘rioters’. President Raisi has on more than one occasion mentioned the word.
Biden had said Friday that “we stand with the citizens, the brave women of Iran”.
“It stunned me what it awakened in Iran. It awakened something that I don’t think will be quieted for a long, long time,” said the US president.
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Earlier Sunday, Iran’s foreign affairs spokesman Nasser Kanani had shrugged off Biden’s comments, saying that “Iran is too strong for its will to be swayed by the interference… by a politician tired of years of failure.”
“We will together defend the independence of Iran,” Kanani wrote on Instagram.
(With inputs from agencies)
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