Iran’s FM accuses US, Israel of smuggling weapons into Iran during protests

Al-Arabia – Iran’s foreign minister has accused the US and Israel of smuggling weapons into Iran in order to create chaos within the country during the protests that followed the death of Mahsa Amini.

In an interview with NPR this week, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian claimed, without providing any evidence, that these weapons were brought in from neighboring countries and that the intention behind this was to “wreak havoc amongst the mobs and masses.”

Iran experienced months of protests following the death of Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who died on September 16 shortly after her arrest by the morality police for allegedly breaching the country’s strict dress rules for women.

The protests, which quickly escalated into calls for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic, were met with a violent crackdown from authorities, who view the protests as “riots” that are backed by foreign powers, namely the US and Israel.

Amir-Abdollahian disputed reports by human rights groups that security forces had killed hundreds and detained thousands, claiming that police were not authorized to carry firearms.

He also disputed reports of journalists being detained, despite reports from the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists stating that dozens of journalists have been arrested.

“No journalist was detained during [the] riots,” he claimed.