Iran’s supreme leader has blamed the US and Israel for the anti-government protests sweeping the country, in his first public comments on the unrest.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said “riots” had been “engineered” by Iran’s arch-enemies and their allies, and alleged that Qurans had been burned.
He also called on security forces to be ready to deal with further unrest.
The protests – the biggest challenge to his rule for a decade – were sparked by the death in custody of a woman.
You will recall, Mahsa Amini, 22 years of age, fell into a coma hours after being detained by morality police on the 13th of September in Tehran for allegedly breaking the strict law requiring women to cover their hair with a hijab, or headscarf. She died three days later.
