Niece of supreme leader Khameni asks world to cut ties with Iranian regime
The niece of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameni is calling on people to put pressure on their governments to cut ties with Tehran over its violent suppression of antigovernment protests.
In a video posted online by her France-based brother, Farideh Moradkhani urged "conscientious people of the world" to support Iranian protesters.
The video was shared online this week after Ms Moradkhani's reported arrest on November 23, according to Us-based rights monitor HRANA.
Ms Moradkhani, a longtime activist whose late father was an opposition figure married to Khamenei's sister, is the closest member of the supreme leader's family to be arrested.
Her branch of the family have opposed Khamenei for decades and Ms Moradkhani has been imprisoned on previous occasions for her activism.
She said in her video statement: "I ask the conscientious people of the world to stand by us and ask their governments not to react with empty words and slogans, but with real action, and stop any dealings with this regime."
The protests, now in their third month, have faced a brutal crackdown by Iranian security forces using live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas to suppress demonstrations.
At least 451 people have been killed, including 63 minors, according to HRANA. Another 18,173 have been detained, the rights monitor reports.
Despite the crackdown, demonstrations are ongoing and scattered across several cities.
The unrest was sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody in Tehran for violating the Islamic Republic's strict dress code.
It has quickly emerged as the most serious challenge to Iran's establishment since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Iran has said it would not co-operate with any UN factfinding mission to investigate the deadly crackdown on protests, foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said yesterday.
The UN Human Rights Council voted to set up the mission last week.
Mr Kanaani said: "The Islamic Republic of Iran will not engage in any co-operation, whatsoever, with the political committee called the 'fact-finding committee'."
Meanwhile, the Iranian Football Federation has complained to Fifa about the United States removing the Islamic Republic symbol from the Iran flag in some social media posts.
Ahead of the nations’ clash in the World Cup today, the US infuriated their opponents by posting altered images of Iran's flag.
Iran's Tasnim News Agency said its country's football federation would be filing a complaint to Fifa's ethics committee and outlined theoretical sanctions.
Legal adviser Safia Allah Faghanpour said: "The action conducted in relation to the Iranian flag is unethical and against international law."
The Islamic Republic News Agency called the United States' social media posts "a hostile and provocative move".