Raisi vows ‘no mercy’ for ‘hostile’ opponents

Published December 28, 2022
Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi speaks in Tehran on December 27. — AFP
Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi speaks in Tehran on December 27. — AFP

TEHRAN: President Ebrahim Raisi said on Tuesday Iran would show ‘no mercy’ towards ‘hostile’ opponents of the Islamic republic, gripped by more than 100 days of protests sparked by Mahsa Amini’s death.

“The embrace of the nation is open to everyone, but we will show no mercy to those who are hostile,” said President Raisi at a funeral for unidentified soldiers who perished during its eight-year war with Saddam-led Iraq in the 1980s.

“The embrace of the nation is open to all those who were lured,” he said while addressing a crowd in Tehran, accusing others of being “hypocrites, monarchists and all anti-revolutionary currents”.

Officials say hundreds of people have been killed, including members of the security forces, and thousands have been arrested nationwide in recent months. The ‘riots’, as Tehran generally refers to them, were triggered by the September 16 death in custody of Iranian-Kurdish Amini, 22, after her arrest for an alleged breach of the strict dress code for women.

Iranian officials have accused hostile foreign powers, including the United States and some European countries, of stoking the unrest. They aim “to derail the Islamic society from its high goals” by “spreading rumours and fracturing society”, said Raisi. But foreign countries are ‘wrong’ to think that would achieve their goals, Raisi argued, calling their moves ‘miscalculated’.

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2022

Opinion

Editorial

Out of control
Updated 19 Feb, 2025

Out of control

AS bodies continue to fall in Kurram despite a state-sanctioned ceasefire, one wonders how long local militants’...
Hollow words
19 Feb, 2025

Hollow words

IT is not uncommon for politicians to resort to the use of hyperbole in order to boost their public standing. ...
Migration matters
19 Feb, 2025

Migration matters

THE grass, it seems, did appear greener on the other side to millions of people as evidenced by the latest UN ...
Cholistan project
Updated 18 Feb, 2025

Cholistan project

GPI goals align with Pakistan's broader economic aims but the manner in which the initiative was launched raises questions.
Right to know
18 Feb, 2025

Right to know

IT is an unfortunate paradox that while on paper Pakistan has some of the most impressive right to information laws,...
Dam dispute
18 Feb, 2025

Dam dispute

THE situation in Chilas needs attention and a fair-minded approach so that it can be resolved amicably. Diamer ...