Anti-Hijab Protest: Iran vows to use ‘all might’
Iran's police yesterday warned they will confront "with all their might" women-led protests that erupted nearly two weeks ago over the death of Mahsa Amini in custody, despite growing calls for restraint.
Dozens of people have been killed since demonstrations erupted when the 22-year-old Kurdish woman died after being arrested in Tehran for allegedly breaching the Islamic republic's strict rules on hijab headscarves and modest clothing.
Widespread protests took place for a 12th straight night on Tuesday, according to opposition media based outside Iran.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards yesterday said they fired missiles and drones at militant targets in the Kurdish region of neighbouring northern Iraq, where an official said nine people were killed. 32 people were also wounded in the attacks near Erbil and Sulaimaniya in Kurdistan, prompting Iraq to summon the Iranian ambassador.
Iranian authorities have accused armed Iranian Kurdish dissidents of involvement in the unrest.
On Tuesday, the UN said its chief Antonio Guterres had called on Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi not to use "disproportionate force" against protesters.
Iran on Tuesday accused the United States of using the unrest to try to destabilise the country.
Fars news agency said Tuesday "around 60" people had been killed since Amini's death on September 16. But the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights said the crackdown has killed at least 76 people. Officials said Monday they had made more than 1,200 arrests, including of activists, lawyers and journalists.
On Tuesday, authorities in Iran arrested the daughter of ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani for "inciting rioters", the Tasnim news agency reported.
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