Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has disrupted attempts to use current popular protests to overthrow the theocratic regime.
Sentiments and comments expressed on Twitter and other social media are highly suggestive that the government is confident it has put down the protests that spread to 80 cities and led to 22 deaths.
“Once again, the nation tells the US, Britain, and those who seek to overthrow the Islamic Republic of Iran from abroad that ‘you’ve failed, and you will fail in the future, too.'” Khamenei tweeted.
The elite Revolutionary Guards Corps said Sunday that the bulk of the protests had been disrupted while also blaming them on outside forces.
At least 1,000 people have been arrested in the biggest anti-government protests for nearly a decade.
Judiciary officials have claimed that at least two protestors who were in custody died from suicide.
The deaths have prompted some Iranian politicians to intervene.
“I warn the president and security and judiciary officials to prevent the occurrence of a second Kahrizak,” Mahmoud Sadeghi, a parliamentarian, tweeted on Monday. The Kahrizak prison gained notoriety when a handful of detainees were killed and tortured at the site after unrest in 2009. [source]
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