Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up DUBAI, Sept 23 (Reuters) – State-sponsored protests were held in several Iranian cities on Friday to counter anti-government protests sparked by the death of a woman in police custody, with some protesters calling for the rioters to be executed. The protests followed the authorities’ strongest warning yet, when the military told Iranians it would deal with “the enemies” behind the unrest – a move that could signal the kind of crackdown that has crushed protests in the past. Demonstrators denounced the anti-government protesters as “Israeli soldiers,” live state television coverage showed. They also chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” common slogans used by the country’s clerical rulers to try to drum up support for the authorities. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up “Quran violators must be executed,” the crowds chanted. Iranians have staged mass protests over the case of Mahsa Amini, 22, who died last week after being arrested by morality police for wearing “inappropriate clothing”. Amini’s death has reignited anger over issues such as restrictions on personal freedoms in Iran, strict dress codes for women and an economy reeling from sanctions. Iran’s military on Friday sent the harshest warning since authorities to protesters angered by the death. “These desperate actions are part of the enemy’s evil strategy to weaken the Islamic regime,” it said. The military said it would “counter the various conspiracies of the enemies in order to ensure security and peace for the people who are being unjustly attacked.” Information Minister Mahmoud Alavi also warned the “statists” on Friday that “their dream of defeating religious values and the great achievements of the revolution will never come true,” according to the AsrIran website. The protests were particularly intense in the province of Amini, Kurdistan and nearby areas. State television said two caches of weapons, explosives and communications equipment were seized and two people arrested in northwestern Iran, which includes the border with Iraq, where armed Kurdish dissident groups are based. Iran’s clerical rulers fear a revival of protests that erupted in 2019 over gasoline price hikes, the bloodiest in the Islamic Republic’s history. Reuters reported that 1,500 people were killed. In the latest unrest, protesters in Tehran and other cities torched police stations and vehicles as anger over Amini’s death showed no sign of abating, with reports of security forces coming under attack. Iranian media reported the arrest of 288 rioters on Thursday. In Madrid, four topless activists from the women’s movement Femen demonstrated in front of the Iranian embassy on Friday over Amini’s death, holding signs reading “Women, Life, Freedom” and “Mahsa Amini murdered.” The protest was peaceful and there were no arrests. In Athens, angry demonstrators protesting Amini’s death tried to approach the Iranian embassy on Thursday before being forced back by shield-wielding police. Protesters chanted slogans and held placards reading “Homophobia and sexism kill”. Protests over Amini’s death were also held in Canada and the Netherlands on Thursday. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Report from Dubai Newsroom. Written by Michael Georgy, Edited by Alex Richardson, Angus MacSwan, William Maclean Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
