Iran's Raisi condemns 'chaos' of protests after Mahsa Amini's death

Iran's President EbrahimRaisicondemned Wednesday the "chaos" sparked by a wave of women-led protests over the death of MahsaAminiwhile in the custody of the Islamic republic's morality police.

"Those who took part in the riots must be dealt with decisively, this is the demand of the people," saidRaisiin a televised interview.

"People's safety is the red line of the Islamic republic ofIranand no one is allowed to break the law and causechaos," he said.

"The enemy has targeted national unity and wants to pit people against each other," added the ultraconservative president, accusingIran's archfoe the United States of stoking the unrest.

Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, died on September 16, three daysaftershe had been arrested for allegedly breachingIran's strict rules for women on wearing hijab headscarves and modest clothing.

Raisisaid the nation had felt "grief and sorrow" over herdeath, and that forensics and judiciary experts would soon present a final report, but also warned that "protestsare different to riots".

"Woman, Life, Freedom!" the protesters have chanted inIran's biggest demonstrations in almost three years, in which women have defiantly burned their headscarves and cut off their hair.

Their actions have been matched in solidarityprotestsworldwide, with British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who spent six years in jail inIran, cutting her hair in a video shared on the BBC Persian service.

Amini's bereaved parents have filed a complaint, demanding "a thorough investigation" and the release of "all videos and photographs" of her while in custody, said their lawyer Saleh Nikbakht.

An Iraq-based cousin ofAmini, who is a member of a Kurdish nationalist group, charged that she diedaftera "violent blow to the head" and that one officer had vowed to "instil the rules in her and teach her how to wear the hijab and how to dress".

As the Iranianprotestshave flared for 12 nights in a row,Iran's police command vowed its forces would confront them "with all their might", in a crackdown that one rights group says has already killed at least 76 people.

Cowardly attacks

Iranhas blamed outside forces for the unrest, including "counter-revolutionary" Kurdish groups based in northern Iraq -- across fromIran's Kurdistan provinceAminihailed from, and where theprotestsfirst flared.

In a major escalation,Iranon Wednesday launched cross-border missile and drone strikes that killed 13 people in Iraq's Kurdistan region,afteraccusing Kurdish armed groups based there of fuelling the unrest.

The attacks were condemned by the UN mission in Iraq, and the federal government in Baghdad summoned the Iranian ambassador.

The United States condemned the "brazen attacks" and Britain said Iraq's "indiscriminate bombardment" demonstrates "a repeated pattern of Iranian destabilising activity in the region".

Germany slammed the "escalation... against the backdrop of domestic politicalprotestsinIran" and rejected "attempts to locate the causes of the Iranianprotestsin the neighbouring country".

The Kurdish Democratic Party ofIran, one of the groups targeted, charged that "these cowardly attacks are occurring at a time when the terrorist regime ofIranis unable to crack down on ongoingprotestsinside and silence the Kurdish and Iranian peoples' civil resistance".

Not a big deal

The Iranian government -- its economy already hit by sanctions over its nuclear programme -- has sought to play down the crisis.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said he told Western diplomats at recent UN meetings that theprotestswere "not a big deal" for the stability of the clerical state.

"There is not going to be regime change inIran. Don't play to the emotions of the Iranian people," he told National Public Radio in New York, also accusing "outside elements" of stirring up violence.

Fars news agency said Tuesday "around 60" people had been killed sinceAmini'sdeath. But the Oslo-based groupIranHuman Rights said the crackdown has killed at least 76 people.

Iran's response has drawn concern from the United Nations and condemnation from the around the world, with Germany and Spain summoning the Iranian ambassadors and the United States and Canada announcing new sanctions.

The son ofIran's late shah, in an interview near Washington with AFP,hailed theprotestsand urged the world to add to the pressure on the clerical leadership.

Reza Pahlavi, whose father was toppled in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, urged greater preparation for a future Iranian system that is secular and democratic.

"It is truly in modern times, in my opinion, the first revolution for the women, by the women -- with the support of the Iranian men, sons, brothers and fathers," said Pahlavi.

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