TEHRAN -- The comrades and colleagues of Arman Aliverdi, a 21-year-old Iranian Basiji youth who was severely beaten by wild rioters in Tehran and was martyred in the hospital later, say the Daesh-like thugs who killed the young man have been trained by foreign countries.
One of Arman’s friends, who was present with him in the Ekbatan area where he was beaten and stabbed to death, told the Al-Mayadeen TV channel that “the attitude of thugs on the streets of Tehran was so similar to that of Daesh terrorist group and it seems like they have been trained on how to carry out violence and killing.”
The young man recounted that “Martyr Arman Aliverdi chose to walk through side alleys in order to avoid the crowds. He was walking when suddenly violent rioters started throwing stones at him and the group of young men with him. Some rioters clashed with the martyr, and as he tried to move on, the thugs found out that he belonged to the Basij volunteer forces and therefore surrounded him and started assaulting him.”
The West-supported rioters, he continued, ordered him to insult his own religious beliefs. However, Arman repeatedly refused, which infuriated the rioters. Then they shoved him to the ground and started beating him.
“They stripped him of his clothes, kicked him, punched him, slapped him, insulted him, tortured him, and stabbed him with knives.”
He also recalled that “when we found the martyr, he was covered with his blood. We transferred him quickly to the hospital but he did not survive and died due to torture and severe injuries.”
On a related note, a Basij officer told Al-Mayadeen that “foreign players who meddle in Iranian internal affairs have been training rioters to target people and centers belonging to the Basij and the Revolution.”
He added that some of the protesters are not thugs and have the right to protest, but the protests were hijacked and exploited to carry out Western agendas and cause damage to Iran’s security and stability.
“There are trained persons, however, who are worse than Daesh terrorists. They are trying to carry out heinous crimes in Iran, worse and more violent than the ones we witnessed in Syria and Iraq. We will confront them,” he said.
He called on the Iranians to open their eyes to the violent nature of the thugs and rioters and to be vigilant against Western-backed attempts to turn Iran into chaos.
Arman’s torn-out clothes and his silver ring that was broken due to severe beating and torture have been put on display at the headquarters in memory of the young Basiji man.
The thugs, who have killed dozens so far, claim to be “advocates” of freedom of thought, belief, and religion; freedom of speech; and freedom of expression. Videos on social media show how violent rioters have been going on a rampage across the country, attacking security officers and people who have religious looks, women wearing the full hijab or Iranian chador which is a traditional and conservative outfit, resorting to vandalism against public property, and desecrating religious sanctities.
Many peaceful protesters backed off and retreated in fear for their lives, after realizing that this is yet another plot to cause unrest in Iran. Meanwhile, millions of Iranians took part in rallies that were held in 900 cities on Friday, including in the capital Tehran where demonstrators strongly condemned the hostile policies of the U.S. and some other Western and Arab regimes against Iran, which displayed unity among Iranians.
Dual standards remain crystal clear, showing how Western media coverage is biased. At the time Western media outlets cover fake news and circulate disinformation on Iran, they do not provide any media coverage to the violence and damage caused by the violent rioters, including the violent killing of Aliverdi, in an attempt to create an “anti-Iran” intended rhetoric, sabotage the image of Iran, and meddle in its internal affairs.
While violent rioters and agents carried out Western commands on the pretext of Mahsa Amini’s death, which sparked weeks of riots, killings, and sabotage and were covered by Western media 24/7, the reaction of the same Western media outlets to Arman’s brutal death was a media blackout.