Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the widespread protests across the country in the past 12 days a "dangerous conspiracy" against the Islamic Republic plotted by the United States.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the widespread protests across the country in the past 12 days a "dangerous conspiracy" against the Islamic Republic plotted by the United States.
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Last week, thousands of Iranians took to the streets in cities across the country to protest a dramatic increase in fuel prices. Police and security forces have confronted protests with severe violence.
Khamenei's charge comes one day after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo voiced strong support for protesters again and called on Iran's leaders to stop their crackdown.
The Trump administration has also taken steps to actively support the protesters, according to a State Department official, helping to boost internet connectivity in the country and calling for protesters to submit videos and photos of the government crackdown.
Amnesty International reported on Monday that at least 143 people have been killed in the last week by security forces in different cities, almost entirely by firearms. ABC News is unable to independently verify those figures because of restrictions in Iran.
While Khamenei and other Iranian authorities said they recognize people’s right to protest, they robustly defended the bloody crackdown, saying that many of those on the streets were "rioters" connected to the foreign powers, not protesters.
"Police, Basij [an Iranian paramilitary militia] and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps took over the scene and carried out their duty in a tough confrontation," said Ayatollah Khamenei in a speech Wednesday before thousands of Basij members, according to his office's official website.