Leader Underlines Punishment for Masterminds, Perpetrators of Recent Crimes in Iran

Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks in a speech he delivered during a meeting with a group of people from the Central Iranian city of Isfahan in Tehran on Saturday.

Referring to the recent unrests and terror operations across Iran, the Supreme Leader noted that “these incidents, crimes, and sabotages create problems for people and businesses”, but the people “in the scene and behind the scenes of these evils are less inferior to be able to harm the Islamic system”.

He predicted that the end of the riots is near and “the Iranian nation will continue to move forward in the path of progress with more strength and a fresher spirit”.

Ayatollah Khamenei called on judicial officials to punish the major elements behind the unrests and terror operations in accordance with their crimes they have committed.

The Leader stated that arrogant powers are disgruntled by Iran’s scientific advances as tremendous progress being achieved by the Islamic Republic is consigning liberal democracy propagated by the West to history.

“Westerners could loot the entire world for more than two centuries through the discourse of liberal democracy. They made interventions, claiming there was no freedom in one place or there did not exit democracy somewhere else. They plundered the national assets and resources of the country as a result,” he added.

“Poor Europe became rich at the expense of many rich countries like India and China. Iran was not directly colonized, but they did everything they could here,” Ayatollah Khamenei pointed out.

“Afghanistan is an example just before your own eyes. Americans came and committed crimes in Afghanistan for 20 years. They perpetrated all forms of criminal acts, brought the same government that had overthrown back to power, and withdrew in a humiliating manner,” he underscored.

“NATO, the US, the former Soviet Union and some European countries backed Saddam during the 8-year war on Iran. In fact, the whole world was on one side and the Islamic Republic on the other side,” Iran’s leader said, adding, “But Iran won this war with bare hands by relying on the determination of the people.”

He went on to hail the Islamic Republic of Iran as the establishment which has rejected the idea of liberal democracy, given its nation an identity, awakened and empowered them, and stood up against Western schools of thought.

Ayatollah Khamenei further noted that West’s enmity towards Iran is rooted in the fact that the Islamic Republic continues to make progress, and the whole world acknowledges such advancement – something which the West cannot stand.

“Should we have not made any progress, did not show up a strong presence in the region, our voice had faltered in the face of America and its arrogance and we were ready to accept its bullying, the ongoing pressures would have been much less,” the Leader of the Islamic Revolution added.

Ayatollah Khamenei also pointed out that the bids against Iran have been much greater anytime that the Islamic Republic has vociferously opposed its enemies.

The Supreme Leader also stressed that Washington has always been at the forefront of the anti-Iran campaign and its European allies are standing behind it.

He stated that all US presidents, including Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, have gone up against Iran in the years following the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and have relied on the support of the Israeli regime and certain regimes in the region to accomplish their so-called goals.

“Despite all such attempts, enemies have failed on the whole,” Ayatollah Khamenei stressed.

“Of course they have posed problems, such as sanctions, assassination of nuclear scientists, application of various political and security ploys, and even bribed some people inside the country to speak out against the Islamic establishment. But they could not stop the Iranian nation from progressing ahead,” he conclueded.

In recent days, several people, including civilian and security forces, were martyred and wounded in separate terror attacks in three provinces of Iran.

Earlier, a heavily-armed assailant killed 15 people and wounded 19 others in an attack on Shah Cheragh, as pilgrims were visiting the holy site.

Iranian officials have stressed Tehran’s resolve to punish the perpetrators and masterminds of the bloody attacks.

The tragic incidents came as protests erupted in several cities across Iran over the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman who fainted at a police station in mid-September and days later was pronounced dead at a hospital. The demonstrations soon turned violent.

An official report by Iran’s Legal Medicine Organization announced that Amini’s controversial death was caused by an illness rather than alleged blows to the head or other vital body organs.

Iranian officials blame Western countries for orchestrating the riots to destabilize the country.

Ali Khamenei has severely censured the deadly riots, saying they were orchestrated in advance by the United States and the Israeli regime.

“I state it clearly that these developments were planned by America, the Zionist regime and their acolytes. Their main problem is with a strong and independent Iran and the country’s progress. The Iranian nation proved to be fairly strong during recent events and will bravely come onto the scene wherever necessary in the future,” he added.

Iranian officials have blamed the United States, the European Unions, and several Western states for meddling in Iran’s internal affairs over the death of Mahsa. They advised the US and its allies against “opportunism and instrumentalization of the issue of human rights” by misusing the incident.

Tehran reminded that the countries, which, themselves, towed a “long history of warmongering and violence” throughout the world, lacked the legitimacy that could authorize them to “moralize others” concerning the human rights.