US State Department: Protests in Iran Transcended National and Geographical Boundaries
The protests in Iran are spontaneous, transcended national borders and geography, and have little or no leadership, so protesters have been able to continue their efforts in ways that were not possible in previous protests, State Department spokesman Ned Price said during a news briefing.
Asked about the recent joint message from leading opposition figures, Price said, “It’s up to the Iranian people to decide how they organize. It is also the duty of the United States to support freedom of expression, assembly and all freedoms of the people,” the Iran International reported.
The spokesman of the US State Department stressed that the American focus is no longer on reviving the nuclear agreement, especially since September. We focus on supporting the Iranian people’s fundamental freedoms, and on the Iranian regime’s and Russia’s increased cooperation in the Ukraine war, he said.
Referring to the U.S. government’s actions against the Islamic Republic regime for suppressing the protests of the Iranian people and the cooperation of Tehran and Moscow, Ned Price emphasized the continuation and tightening of these actions.
Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, praised the courage of Iranian protesters as they continue to protest against the regime despite the crackdown.
“Week after week, crowds continue in places like Zahedan, Sistan and Baluchestan,” he tweeted, adding that “They are not deterred by the Iranian regime’s internet shutdown and violent crackdowns that have left hundreds dead in their hometowns.”
The Democratic Senator called on Iranian activists not to give in to the regime, praising the Iranian chess player who left for Spain. “Sarah and her ilk must choose between defending the basic level of human rights or returning to their country,” he said. “The Iranian regime offers few options to those who do not submit to its repression.”
Meanwhile, Iran’s human rights agency, Herana, put the number of people killed in the ongoing protests at 516, including 70 children under the age of 18. The news agency said: Iranian authorities arrested more than 19,000 demonstrators in addition to 687 students, and the Iranian judiciary confirmed the death sentence for 2 on charges of killing a security member during protests.
IRNA added that Iran’s revolutionary courts have sentenced 670 detainees since protests began in the country.
Iran’s judiciary confirmed Monday that the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence against Iranian protester Mohammad Borghani for the protests that have taken place in the country since the death of young Iranian Mahsa Amini.
