The protests won't lead to regime change: Iran's foreign minister

 

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has said that the protests in the Islamic Republic of Iran will not destabilise his country.

In an interview with NPR in New York City, Amirabdollahian acknowledged the tragedy of a 22-year-old woman, who died in police custody in mid-September, but said such incidents happen around the world.

The Iranian minister reportedly said, "I'm assuring them (his Western counterparts) that there is not a big deal going on in Iran. There is not going to be regime change in Iran. Don't play to the emotions of the Iranian people."

The foreign minister said that Mahsa Amini's death is being "seriously investigated," and Iranian President, Ebrahim Raisi, who is among the senior officials promising a full investigation of the matter,  had called Amini's family. He also said that many protests are products of foreign media and outside agitation.

According to human rights activists, Iranian security officials have been trying to suppress the unrest, restricting internet access, beating, arresting, and killing protestors. Some marchers also chanted "Death to the dictator," a slogan against Iran's clerical rule.

The Islamic nation has been witnessing massive protests against the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained by the country’s "morality police" for violating the nation's dress code. Human rights groups said that morality police beat her because she was wearing a loose Hijab. They said that there were reports that Amini was beaten on the head with a baton by Iran’s morality police officers.

Many Iranian women on social media started uploading their videos of chopping off hair and setting their Hijabs on fire. The protest has increased to the next level, with a video going viral of many women chopping their hair in public in Tehran, the capital of Iran. The demonstrations are still going on across Iran.