Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Iran Supreme Leader Claims Protests a US-Backed ‘Conspiracy’
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
November 27, 2019

Share

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s supreme leader on Wednesday claimed without evidence that recent protests across the Islamic Republic over government-set gasoline prices rising were part of a “conspiracy” involving the U.S., as authorities began to acknowledge the scale of the demonstrations.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the comment while addressing members of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force, which help put down the demonstrations.
Meanwhile, one lawmaker was quoted as saying authorities arrested more than 7,000 people over the protests while a security official claimed demonstrators attempted to take over Iranian state television.
Iran’s government still hasn’t offered any statistics on injuries, arrests or deaths in the protests and security crackdown that followed government-set gasoline prices rising Nov. 15. Amnesty International says it believes the violence killed at least 143 people, something Iran disputes without offering any evidence to support its claims.
In his comments reported by state media, Khamenei said the Iranian people extinguished “a very dangerous deep conspiracy that cost so much money and effort.” He praised the police, the Guard and the Basij for “entering the field and carrying out their task in a very difficult confrontation.”

Photo of protests in Iran
Demonstrators burn representations of the U.S. flag during a pro-government rally denouncing last week’s violent protests over a fuel price hike, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Nov. 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Wednesday Marks the 40th Anniversary of the Creation of the Basij

Khamenei, who has final say on all matters of state, described the protests as being orchestrated by “global arrogance,” which he uses to refer to the U.S. He described America as seeing the price hikes as an “opportunity” to bring their “troops” to the field but the “move was destroyed by people.”

“We achieved a great national victory against superpowers. This great epic shows power of our people.” — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
Wednesday marks the 40th anniversary of the creation of the Basij. Videos from the protest purport to show plainclothes Basij officials and others on motorcycles beating and detaining protesters.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate within Iran’s ruling Shiite theocracy, similarly blamed America for the protests without offering evidence. He called violent protesters “mercenaries” and “hooligans,” alleging the U.S. sent money over two years to spark the demonstrations.
“We achieved a great national victory against superpowers,” Rouhani said. “This great epic shows power of our people.”
Meanwhile, the moderate news website Entekhab quoted Hossein Naghavi Hosseini, a member of parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, as saying more than 7,000 people had been arrested in the demonstrations. He did not elaborate.

Starting Nov. 16, Iran Shut Down the Internet Across the Country

Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli also claimed in an interview late Tuesday on state television that “some 500 people” tried to storm Iran’s state television offices. He did not elaborate and no protests had been previously reported in the northern Tehran neighborhood home to the state broadcaster.
Fazli also estimated as many as 200,000 people took part the demonstrations, higher than previous claims. He said demonstrators damaged over 50 police stations, as well as 34 ambulances, 731 banks and 70 gas stations in the country.
“We have individuals who were killed by knives, shotguns and fires,” he said, without offering a casualty figure.
Starting Nov. 16, Iran shut down the internet across the country, limiting communications with the outside world. That made determining the scale and longevity of the protests incredibly difficult. While home and office internet has been restored, access on mobile phones had remained rare until Wednesday night. Reports suggested users regained mobile internet access in Tehran and eight other provinces.
The gasoline price hike came as Iran’s 80 million people have already seen their savings dwindle and jobs scarce under crushing U.S. sanctions. President Donald Trump imposed them in the aftermath of unilaterally withdrawing America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers.
[activecampaign form=29]

DON'T MISS

Former MLB Pitcher CJ Wilson of Fresno on New Torpedo Bats: ‘Still Room for Innovation’

DON'T MISS

Man Arrested After Shooting at Fresno’s Switch Nightclub

DON'T MISS

Who Is Fresno’s ‘Fake’ ICE Agent? He Speaks Up

DON'T MISS

French Far-Right Leader Marine Le Pen Barred From Seeking Office for 5 Years

DON'T MISS

I Will Force Votes on Blocking Arms Sales to Israel: Sen. Bernie Sanders

DON'T MISS

Man Faces Life in Prison After Conviction for 2019 Visalia Murder

DON'T MISS

What Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs Could Mean for Americans: Fareed Zakaria

DON'T MISS

A Look at Fresno City College’s New $87 Million Science Building

DON'T MISS

California Gov. Newsom Says the Democratic Brand Is ‘Toxic’

DON'T MISS

‘Trump Slump’ Looms as Foreign Visitors Rethink Travel to US

UP NEXT

Israeli Military Orders the Evacuation of Gaza’s Southern City of Rafah

UP NEXT

Earthquake Compounds Humanitarian Crisis in Myanmar as Death Toll Passes 1,700

UP NEXT

Myanmar’s Earthquake Death Toll Jumps to 1,644 as More Bodies Are Recovered From the Rubble

UP NEXT

Top Vaccine Official Resigns From FDA, Criticizes RFK Jr. for Promoting Misinformation, Lies

UP NEXT

Trump Pledges US Aid for Asia Quake Despite Former Official Saying System in ‘Shambles’

UP NEXT

Israel Strikes Beirut for the First Time Since a Ceasefire Ended the Latest Israel-Hezbollah War

UP NEXT

Utah Becomes the First State to Ban Fluoride in Public Drinking Water

UP NEXT

At Least 20 Dead in Myanmar After Strong Earthquake

UP NEXT

Wilmer Flores’ 3-Run Homer in the 9th Inning Propels Giants to Victory Over Reds

UP NEXT

Germany and France Say Europe Must Respond to Trump’s Auto Tariffs

French Far-Right Leader Marine Le Pen Barred From Seeking Office for 5 Years

1 hour ago

I Will Force Votes on Blocking Arms Sales to Israel: Sen. Bernie Sanders

1 hour ago

Man Faces Life in Prison After Conviction for 2019 Visalia Murder

3 hours ago

What Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs Could Mean for Americans: Fareed Zakaria

3 hours ago

A Look at Fresno City College’s New $87 Million Science Building

3 hours ago

California Gov. Newsom Says the Democratic Brand Is ‘Toxic’

3 hours ago

‘Trump Slump’ Looms as Foreign Visitors Rethink Travel to US

4 hours ago

White House Weighs Helping Farmers as Trump Escalates Trade War

4 hours ago

Torpedo-Shaped Bats Draw Attention After Yankees Hit Team-Record 9 Homers

4 hours ago

Silver Fire Grows to 1,250 Acres, Threatens Homes in Inyo County

4 hours ago

Former MLB Pitcher CJ Wilson of Fresno on New Torpedo Bats: ‘Still Room for Innovation’

The New York Yankees’ newest weapon in the Major League Baseball arms race drew hotly divided takes from the baseball community. Over ...

8 minutes ago

8 minutes ago

Former MLB Pitcher CJ Wilson of Fresno on New Torpedo Bats: ‘Still Room for Innovation’

Ian McDonough, 26, was arrested after a shooting outside a Fresno nightclub left another man injured, police said. (Fresno PD)
16 minutes ago

Man Arrested After Shooting at Fresno’s Switch Nightclub

58 minutes ago

Who Is Fresno’s ‘Fake’ ICE Agent? He Speaks Up

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen poses prior to an interview on the evening news broadcast of French TV channel TF1, after a French court convicted Marine Le Pen of embezzlement and barred her from seeking public office for five years, Monday, March 31, 2025, in Boulogne-Billancourt, outside Paris. (Thomas Samson, Pool via AP)
1 hour ago

French Far-Right Leader Marine Le Pen Barred From Seeking Office for 5 Years

1 hour ago

I Will Force Votes on Blocking Arms Sales to Israel: Sen. Bernie Sanders

A Tulare County jury convicted Isaiah Elias Garcia, 25, on Friday, March 28, 2025, of second-degree murder for fatally stabbing a man during a 2019 fight in Visalia. (Tulare County DA)
3 hours ago

Man Faces Life in Prison After Conviction for 2019 Visalia Murder

Michael Froman discusses the potential impact of Trump's proposed "Liberation Day" tariffs in an interview with Fareed Zakaria. (Video Screenshot)
3 hours ago

What Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs Could Mean for Americans: Fareed Zakaria

Fresno City College students at the new Science Building
3 hours ago

A Look at Fresno City College’s New $87 Million Science Building

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend