Status: 11/10/2022 11:49 am
“Our response will be appropriate and resolute,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian threatened to react to German criticism of Tehran’s violent actions against demonstrators. Protests continue across the country.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced further sanctions against the country yesterday because of the Iranian government’s violent handling of the nationwide protests. Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has now responded by threatening further reactions. “Provocative, interventionist and undiplomatic attitudes do not show sophistication and wisdom,” Amirabdollahian said on Twitter.
“Germany can choose to engage in tackling common challenges – or to confront,” the chief diplomat continued, threatening: “Our response will be appropriate and resolute.” Damaging historical relationships will have long-term consequences. Another package of sanctions is being prepared, Amirabdollahian said. “At the same time, we are working to ensure that there is a special session on Iran in the UN Human Rights Council and that an investigation mechanism is mandated.”
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wrote on Twitter yesterday: “We stand by the men and women of Iran, not just today, but as long as it is necessary.”
Increasing tensions between Berlin and Tehran
After the outbreak of the nationwide system-critical protests, the tone between Berlin and Tehran recently intensified. Yesterday the Bundestag discussed a motion by the traffic light groups. In it, the SPD, Greens and FDP advocate supporting the protest in Iran with additional sanctions against Tehran and better protection for opposition members who have fled.
Anti-government protests in Iran continue
Meanwhile, anti-government protests in Iran are reportedly ongoing. This morning videos circulated online showing rallies in the capital Tehran, and people also took to the streets in other cities. Tear gas was used near Isfahan, as shown in a video. Participants chanted “Death to the dictator” – a slogan against Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that has often been heard since the protests began.
The reason for the new rallies was the bloody suppression of a demonstration in Sahedan, the capital of the provinces of Sistan and Balochistan, on September 30. According to activists, security forces killed almost 100 people there. After the 40-day mourning period, protesters took to the streets in Sahedan and elsewhere. It was initially unclear whether there were clashes with injuries or arrests. The state news agency IRNA only confirmed demonstrations near Isfahan.
Nationwide demonstrations since Amini’s death
The trigger for the protests in Iran was the death of the 22-year-old Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini in police custody in mid-September. She had been arrested by the vice squad for allegedly not wearing her headscarf in accordance with regulations. Initially, protests were directed against the headscarf requirement, but demonstrators are now demanding the overthrow and death of supreme leader Khamenei. Since Amini’s death, tens of thousands have been demonstrating nationwide against the government’s repressive course and the Islamic system of rule.
In an interview with the creators of Khamenei’s personal website, Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib once again directed threats at protesters and Saudi Arabia, which the leadership in Tehran has blamed for the unrest in the country along with Britain, Israel and the United States. Iran’s “strategic patience” is gradually coming to an end, Chatib said. When countries sitting in glass houses throw stones at mighty Iran, it means nothing other than crossing the “limits of rationality” and entering “the darkness of stupidity”. “If the will of the Islamic Republic tends to retaliate and punish these countries, then the glass palaces will inevitably collapse and these countries will not experience stability,” he warned.
Actress Alidoosti shows solidarity
The well-known Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti once again expressed solidarity with the demonstrators in the country in view of the actions of the Iranian government. In a post on Instagram, the 38-year-old published a photo without a headscarf. She holds a poster with the Kurdish protest slogan “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi” (Woman, Life, Freedom) into the camera. Since the outbreak of the protests, the feminist has repeatedly spoken out critically and supported the demands of the demonstrators. A few days ago she recalled a post she had written years ago: “We are not citizens, never were. We are prisoners, millions of prisoners.”
Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti has once again publicly supported the demands of the protesters in Iran.
Image: dpa
Alidoosti, who lives in Iran, should face consequences after her post. Already in the weeks after the protests broke out, celebrities were repeatedly subjected to repression by state actors after expressing solidarity. The 38-year-old is considered one of Iran’s most famous actresses. Her best-known films include the Oscar-winning feature film “The Salesman” by Iranian director Asghar Farhadi and the drama “All About Elly”.