TEHRAN - Iranian Interior
Minister Ahmad Vahidi on Tuesday said that foreign-backed terror groups in northern Iraq were leading the riots in Iran to foment sedition and set off secession.
Vahidi said that the riots are “planned, supported, and led by separatist terror groups,” including the so-called Komala Party, Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and Party of Free Life of Kurdistan, also known as PJAK, which have a history of cooperation with the Zionist regime and were once hired by the Western countries and Iraqi president Saddam Hussein as mercenaries.
They also committed crimes and conducted terrorist operations in Iran, he added.
Over the past few days violent riots have erupted across the country as well as in Sanandaj, the capital city of Kurdistan province, however, he said, Iran’s Kurdish population who are seeking peace, security and development separated themselves from the rioters.
“Iran’s army and law enforcement forces have firmly dealt with the rioters and their leaders and will continue to do so to neutralize their fruitless efforts,” he warned.
The U.S., the Zionist regime and separatist terror groups are definitely happy with the riots in Iran and these acts against the national interest, the minister said.
Government spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi also said that the Iranian government consents to legal protests and the interior minister is tasked with suggesting guidelines for organizing such gatherings.
He also criticized Persian language media based abroad that are training people to commit terrorist actions saying that they must be held accountable to authorities for the harm they are inflicting upon the country.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Bahadori Jahromi slammed Western countries’ double standards, saying that the medications late Mahsa Amini needed for her underlying condition were subjected to sanctions imposed by the U.S.

‘Organizers of Foreign-Backed Riots Will Be Punished’
Iranian Judiciary spokesman Massoud Setayeshi says the body will decisively punish the lead foreign-backed perpetrators in the recent riots, which erupted following the death of a young Iranian woman.
“Taking a stance in the face of the U.S. and Zionism is the rational demand of Muslin nations which requires a convincing and sufficient response,” Setayeshi told reporters during a press conference.
We pay attention to the people who came to the scene unknowingly and got into trouble,” the spokesman said.
He also extended his condolences to the families of those who were killed in defense of the country and its people.
He warned that the enemy is always trying to create ambiguity

and chaos, cause problems for people, sow discord among them, and disrupt the country’s peace, security, welfare and progress.
The recent incidents in the country also caused economic problems, he said, emphasizing that everything is clear now and there is no room for ambiguity.
He pointed out that Iran’s Coroner Office has issued “transparent and scientific” reports about Amini’s death, and now is the time to make up for the measures that have been conducted against a number of Iranian citizens and damages to public, state and private properties.
As promised, Iran’s Judiciary examined Amini’s case carefully based on legal principles and by forming a professional medical commission comprised of specialists and scholars in various fields after spending enough time, the official said.
He also slammed foreign media and political propaganda which sparked the riots as one of the “biggest atrocities committed against the Iranian nation” and highlighted the importance of pursuing such moves until the rights of the Iranian people are preserved.
Protests erupted over the death of the 22-year-old Iranian woman, who fainted at a police station and was pronounced dead at a Tehran hospital on September 16, first in her native province of Kurdistan and later in several cities, including the capital Tehran.
Immediately after Amini’s death, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi ordered a thorough investigation into the case and an official report published on Friday said her death had been caused by an illness rather than alleged blows to the head or other vital body organs.
What started as peaceful protests took a violent turn after unruly protesters fatally attacked policemen and indulged in vandalism against public property in several cities.