President Joe Biden said Monday that the United States will impose “further costs” on Iran in response to the violent crackdown on “peaceful protesters” in the country.
He vowed to hold the country’s religious vice squad accountable for its treatment of women and protesters.
“The United States also holds accountable Iranian officials and entities, such as the Morality Police, responsible for using violence to suppress civil society,” Biden said in a statement.
“This week, the United States will impose additional costs on the perpetrators of violence against peaceful protesters. We will continue to hold Iranian officials accountable and support the right of Iranians to protest freely, he added.
Biden said he is “deeply concerned by reports of the intensified violent repression of peaceful protesters in Iran, including students and women, who are demanding their equal rights and basic human dignity.”
‘The United States stands with Iranian women and all citizens of Iran who inspire the world with their bravery.’
Protests have sprung up around the world in support of Iran – over women in Montpellier, France, show their support
In Tehran in September, dozens of people staged a demonstration to protest the death of Mahsa Amini
People run and clash with riot police as students protest the death of Mahsa Amini in Tehran
President Biden to impose ‘further costs’ on Iran in response to violent crackdown on ‘peaceful protesters’ in country
Widespread street demonstrations sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died after being detained by morality police for allegedly violating the country’s strict Islamic dress code, are in their third week.
They have grown into an open challenge to the Iranian leadership, with women burning their headscarves at the state mandate and chants of ‘Death to the Dictator’ echoing from streets and balconies after dark.
Biden gave no indication of what measures he was considering.
Iran is already under crippling US economic sanctions, largely related to its controversial nuclear program, which Tehran insists has only civilian purposes but which the international community suspects is secretly aimed at building a nuclear weapon.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Monday that the United States and Israel are fomenting the unrest.
He broke weeks of silence to condemn what he called ‘riots’ in the streets.
Addressing a cadre of police students in Tehran, Khamenei said he was ‘deeply saddened’ by the death of Amini in police custody, calling it a ‘tragic incident’.
However, he claimed the protests were a foreign plot to destabilize Iran, echoing earlier comments by authorities.
“This riot was planned,” he said. ‘These riots and insecurity were designed by America and the Zionist regime and their employees.’
On Monday, Iran closed its top technology university after an hours-long battle between students and police that turned the prestigious institution into the latest flashpoint of protests and ended with hundreds of young people being arrested.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the students ‘are rightly concerned about the Iranian government’s treatment of women and girls and its ongoing violent crackdown on peaceful protests.’
“This weekend’s crackdown is exactly the kind of behavior that is causing Iran’s talented young people to leave the country, by the thousands, to seek dignity and opportunity elsewhere,” she said.
‘We are alarmed and appalled by reports of security authorities responding to peaceful university student protests with violence and mass arrests.’
The demonstrations have tapped a deep well of grievances in Iran, including the country’s social restrictions, political repression and an ailing economy stifled by US sanctions. Unrest has continued in Tehran and outlying provinces, even as authorities have cut off internet access and blocked social media apps.
Protests have also spread across the Middle East and into Europe and North America. Thousands poured into the streets of Los Angeles to show solidarity. Police clashed with protesters outside Iranian embassies in London and Athens. The crowds chanted ‘Woman! Life! Freedom!’ In Paris.
Protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died after being detained by morality police for allegedly violating the country’s strict Islamic dress code, are in their third week
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke about the protests for the first time on Monday; he called them ‘riots’ and blamed the US and Israel for them
In his remarks on Monday, Khamenei condemned scenes of protesters ripping off their hijabs and setting fire to mosques, banks and police cars as “actions that are not normal, that are unnatural.” He warned that ‘those who incite unrest to sabotage the Islamic Republic deserve severe prosecution and punishment.’
Security forces have responded with tear gas, metal pellets and in some cases live fire, according to rights groups and widely shared footage, although the extent of the crackdown remains unclear.
Iran’s state television has reported that the death toll from violent clashes between protesters and security officers could be as high as 41. Rights groups have given higher death tolls, with London-based Amnesty International saying it has identified 52 victims.
An untold number of people have been apprehended, with local officials reporting at least 1,500 arrests. Security forces have rounded up artists who have expressed support for the protests and dozens of journalists. Last Sunday, authorities arrested Alborz Nezami, a journalist at a financial newspaper in Tehran.