AYATOLLAH BLAMES ‘ENEMIES’ FOR STOKING RISING UNREST ACROSS THE COUNTRY IRAN ON THE DEFENSIVE

Iran’s leaders accused the U.S., Britain and Saudi Arabia of fomenting protests in the country as government forces struggled to contain increasingly violent and widespread unrest. In his first public comments since protests began six days ago, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader, blamed the uprising on the “enemies of Iran” and said foreign governments were sending money and weapons to undermine the Islamic republic.

Speaking to black chador-clad women who were relatives of veterans and war dead, the 78-year-old Khamenei said, “The enemy is always looking for an opportunity and any crevice to infiltrate and strike the Iranian nation.

“In recent days, enemies of Iran used different tools including cash, weapons, politics and intelligence apparatus to create troubles for the Islamic Republic.”

Khamenei, who has final say over all state matters, has blamed foreign adversaries for domestic unrest in the past. In 2009, as Green Movement demonstrations rattled his government, he said the post-election unrest was calculated by Iran’s enemies “whether or not its leaders know.”

At least 21 people have been killed since Thursday, including a police officer and a revolutionary guardsman, and the violence appeared to be intensifying Tuesday as security forces fired on crowds and demonstrators attacked police stations.

While Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, initially offered conciliatory words, saying the protesters had legitimate grievances, the government’s stance hardened in recent days.

The head of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court warned that protesters could face the death penalty if convicted of “moharebeh” — waging war against God — while state television said those arrested after the first 48 hours of demonstrations would be treated more severely. Around 1,000 people have been arrested so far, authorities said.

Kellyanne Conway, Donald Trump’s senior adviser, said the White House was considering new sanctions on Iran in response to its crackdown on the protesters. The sanctions would be likely to target the Revolutionary Guard, the regime’s elite forces that also control major business interests.

In recent days, enemies of Iran used different tools including cash, weapons, politics and intelligence apparatus to create troubles for the Islamic Republic. — IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI The people of Iran are finally acting against the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime ... The people have little food, big inflation and no human rights. — U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP

And Trump tweeted, “The people of Iran are finally acting against the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime ... The people have little food, big inflation and no human rights. The U.S. is watching!”

Nikki Haley, the White House envoy to the United Nations, said the U.S. would convene an emergency UN session on Iran, and dismissed claims of outside influence as “ridiculous.”

Ali Shamkhani, one of Iran’s top security officials, said that the U.S., Britain and Saudi Arabia were behind the protests and had generated many of the calls on social media for people to take to the streets.

“What is happening in Iran will be over in a few days, and there is no reason to worry at all,” he said, according to Iran’s Press TV.

While the last major protests in 2009 were largely supported by affluent Tehranis angry over disputed election results, the current wave of unrest is spread across the country.

“There is a growing consensus that the protests are comprised primarily of members of the working class, who are most vulnerable to chronic unemployment and rises in the cost of living,” said Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, founder of Bourse & Bazaar, an Iran-focused website.

Many protesters said they had taken to the streets out of economic frustration and a sense that the economy was not improving even after the 2015 nuclear deal eased sanctions on Iran.

While Tehran can now sell its oil on the global market and has signed deals to purchase tens of billions of dollars’ worth of Western aircraft, economic improvement has not reached the average Iranian. Unemployment remains high, and official inflation has crept up to 10 per cent again. A recent increase in egg and poultry prices by as much as 40 per cent, which the government has blamed on a cull over avian flu fears, appears to have sparked the protests.

Analysts suggest the protests starting in Mashhad mean conservatives pushed them forward as a way to challenge Rouhani, a relatively moderate cleric whose administration struck the nuclear deal. The protests then grew beyond their control to include violent confrontations, analysts say.

Some of the worst violence took place in areas that few Iranians had ever heard of, including Qahderijan, a town of just 30,000 people, where six demonstrators were reportedly killed as a crowd attacked a police station.

The protests have rekindled the debate over the Trudeau government’s ongoing efforts to restore diplomatic ties with Tehran.

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland’s office has issued a statement calling on Iranian authorities to show restraint. But the protests have also cast a fresh spotlight on the Liberal government’s plan to renew ties with the Islamic republic, which were first cut by the Conservatives in 2012.