Iranians rally to decry foreign-backed riots, desecration of sanctities

People once again took to the streets in cities and towns, including the holy city of Mashhad, on Tuesday on the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Reza, the eighth infallible Shia Imam, to voice their anger over the foreign-backed unrest.

The protesters carried placards and chanted slogans in condemnation of the crimes committed by the rioters, who set fire to the Holy Quran, mosques, and the national flags and forcefully removed women’s headscarves on the streets.

The demonstrators in Mashhad, the city that hosts the holy shrine of Imam Reza in Khorasan Razavi Province, renewed their allegiance to the Islamic Republic’s ideals and the guidelines of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

Protests had broken out in several Iranian cities over the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian woman who died at the hospital a few days after collapsing at a police station in the capital Tehran, where she and a group of others were receiving educational training on dress code rules.

Despite Iranian officials’ clarification on the circumstances surrounding Amini’s death, the protests soon turned violent, with rioters attacking ambulances, police officers, and Islamic sanctities, among others.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi said on Saturday that those who have disrupted the security and peace of the country will be dealt with “decisively.”