“As long as the nation remains on the path of [supporting] the Islamic system and religious values, such enmities will go on, and the only cure is resistance,” said the Leader in a meeting on Wednesday with members of a new term of the Expediency Discernment Council.
Ayatollah Khamenei was referring to the deadly unrest and riots that have broken out in Iran amid protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian woman, in police custody since mid-September.
The rioters have engaged in various acts of violence ranging from armed attacks on security forces, false-flag killings, vandal assaults on public property, and desecration of sanctities.
The Leader elaborated on the situation that prompted the enemies to go for a new conspiracy against the country.
The Iranian nation, he said, made “great moves in a short period of time” which were the complete opposite of the policies of the global hegemony, referring to the US and other Western powers.
As a case in point, the Leader pointed the millions-strong participation of the youth in the Arba’een ceremonies that marked the 40th day since the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein, the third Shia Imam.
The enemies “were thus forced to react” in a “clumsy and foolish manner” provoking riots in Iran, said the Leader, adding that they began to spend money to get some politicians in America and Europe and elsewhere involved.
“In the latest incidents and riots, the enemy’s interference and role is crystal clear to everyone, even to the unbiased experts abroad,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Leader reiterated his earlier call on authorities to differentiate between minor acts of vandalism, carried out by those swayed by emotions, and big roles in the riots.
“Some of these people are either the elements of the enemy or are aligned with the enemy, while some other have merely been provoked,” he said.
He added that cultural programs should be pursued with regard to the second group, while the first group should be dealt with by judicial and security authorities.
Ayatollah Khamenei called on officials not to allow such “minor incidents” in the country to distract them from performing their main duties both at home and on the international stage.
