TEHRAN -- The heads of the three branches of the establishment say the enemies of the Islamic Republic regard a unified and powerful Iran as a threat to their interests.
President Ebrahim Raisi, Judiciary Chief Gholam Hussein Mohseni-Ejei and Parliament Speaker Muhammad Baqer Qalibaf held a meeting here after riots in some cities following the death of a young Iranian woman at a police station last month.
They stressed the importance of reinforcing national unity for the country’s development and progress and commended prudence of the Iranian nation for contributing to efforts to foil enemies’ hostile plots during the recent weeks.
The Islamic Republic currently needs unity among people from different walks of life irrespective of language, religion and ethnicity to counter the hostility and bids to sow division in Iran, they said, adding that all Iranian bodies must also make efforts in this regard.
They said maintaining the country’s tranquility is essential for people’s economic and business activities.
“The security and peace in the country forms the foundation of any kind of development and people’s economic activities and businesses,” they added.
Protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman who fainted at a police station and was pronounced dead at a Tehran hospital on September 16, erupted first in her native province of Kordestan and later in several cities, including the capital Tehran.
The protests soon turned into violent riots, with rioters going on the rampage across the country, attacking security officers, resorting to vandalism against public property, and desecrating religious sanctities.
Immediately after Amini’s death, President Raisi ordered a thorough investigation into the case.
Iranian Intelligence Ministry announced last Friday that the rioters had been backed by Western regimes and their mercenary media, who disseminated misinformation and distorted the sequence of events that led to Amini’s death even before the official investigation into the incident concludes.
Speaking in an address to military cadets in Tehran on Monday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei severely censured the deadly riots, saying they were orchestrated in advance by the United States and the Israeli regime.
“I state it clearly that these developments were planned by America, the Zionist regime and their acolytes. Their main problem is with a strong and independent Iran and the country’s progress. The Iranian nation proved to be fairly strong during recent events and will bravely come onto the scene wherever necessary in the future,” the Leader said.