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Leader says protest ‘legitimate’ but distinct from rioting
Currency depreciation ‘unnatural’, involves ‘hand of enemy’
Officials must engage with protesters, because “talking to the protester is different from talking to the rioter; talking to the rioter is of no use, and the rioter must be put in his place,” he said during a meeting with families of martyrs, including the family of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated by the US military in Baghdad, Iraq, on January 3, 2020.
Ayatollah Khamenei underlined that it is “absolutely unacceptable” for groups to come “under various titles and names with the intention of sabotage and creating insecurity,” standing behind “faithful, healthy and revolutionary bazaaris,” exploiting their protests and engaging in unrest.
The protests across the country began at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar last week over the country’s economic problems which have been worsened by the national currency devaluation which the Leader said is “unnatural” and involves “the hand of the enemy.”
Several people have been reportedly killed during the protests.
Ayatollah Khamenei said the bazaari class is “among the most loyal segments of the country to the Islamic Revolution,” stressing that, “One cannot clash with the Islamic Establishment in the name of the bazaar and merchants.”
He said merchants’ concerns were justified, noting that when a merchant looks at the country’s monetary conditions, the decline in the value of the national currency and its instability, “he says ‘I cannot do business,’ and this is true.”
Ayatollah Khamenei said that the president and senior officials are seeking remedies, adding that the unchecked rise in foreign currency is unnatural and involves “the hand of the enemy,” which he said must be stopped.
The Leader warned against the exploitation of legitimate economic grievances by hostile elements, saying what matters is that “a number of provoked individuals who are mercenaries of the enemy stand behind the bazaaris and chant anti-Islamic, anti-Iranian, and anti-Islamic Republic slogans.”
The Leader emphasized the need to recognize the enemy’s tactics, saying the enemy “does not sit idle and exploits every opportunity,” adding that officials are and will remain present on the ground, but “what matters is the collective nation.”
Ayatollah Khamenei stressed that when the enemy seeks to impose demands arrogantly on the country, the government and the nation, one must “stand firmly against the enemy and bare one’s chest.”
“We will not back down before the enemy, and by relying on Almighty God and the support of the people, God willing, we will bring the enemy to its knees.”