TEHRAN -- Iran’s foreign minister has dismissed reports that the Islamic Republic had arrested “peaceful protesters” during the months-long riots, stressing that only “trouble makers” were arrested over rioting and violence.
“No one was arrested in autumn’s peaceful protests,” Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian wrote in a tweet on Thursday.
The riots followed the death in police custody of a young Iranian woman named Mahsa Amini.
Foreign-backed rioters brutally attacked security officers and caused massive damage to public property. Dozens of people and security personnel were killed in the process across the country, including in the capital Tehran.
Commenting on the protests, Amir-Abdollahian that “when they turned to riot, chaos & violence due to foreign & terrorist interference, trouble makers were arrested”.
On February 5, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei pardoned or commuted the sentences of a large number of Iranian prisoners, who had been arrested during the riots.
Ayatollah Khamenei issued the amnesty on the occasion of the 44th anniversary of the glorious victory of the Islamic Revolution and the birthday anniversary of the first Shia Imam, Imam Ali (AS).
Amir-Abdollahian referred to the decree, reminding that the Leader’s amnesty had covered “all but murderers & terrorists.”

Meeting with Amir-Abdollahian on Tuesday, the United Nations General Assembly President Csaba Korosi commended the decree issued by Ayatollah Khamenei, saying the move deserved appreciation.
Amir-Abdollahian said separately that a number of European governments made grave miscalculations about the recent riot under the influence of misleading reports by the anti-Iran Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO).
In a telephone conversation with his Spanish counterpart José Manuel Albares Bueno, the top Iranian diplomat denounced terrorist outfits and groups for exploitation of recent unrest in the country.
“Some European governments have sadly miscalculated under the influence of false reports by the MKO terrorist group, which was for years on the United States’ list of designated foreign organizations,” he said.