TEHRAN – US President Donald Trump’s support for rioters in Iran laid bare the US scheme to foment a new sedition in the Islamic Republic, deputy chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces said. link> link> link> link>The highest-ranking US official’s direct expression of support for rioters in recent protests in Iran and the supportive voices by a number of other governments and Western media outlets reveal that the US had plans for inciting a sedition inside Iran, Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri said on Monday.
Pointing to a humiliating defeat that enemies suffered in their recent attempts to hijack the peaceful rallies in Iran, the general said the evil American and Zionist plots against the Islamic Republic have been hatched while the US itself saw various public protests against Washington’s policies and measures in 2017.
He further expected a rise in public uprisings and opposition voices in the US in 2018, saying more US states are beginning to call for secession from the central government.
In separate comments in a gathering of lawmakers on Monday, President Hassan Rouhani lashed out at his US counterpart for commenting on the recent protests in Iran, saying the man who already called the Iranian people terrorists has no right to sympathize with the nation.
Some cities of Iran witnessed rallies over the past days in protest at price hikes and economic woes.
Police arrested a number of demonstrators who were trying to damage public property in the gatherings.
According to Article 27 of the Iranian Constitution, “public gatherings and marches are allowed so long as the participants do not carry arms and are not in violation of the fundamental principles of Islam.”
Following the civil rallies, some Western and Arab media outlets tried to portray the protests as a political uprising against the Establishment.
Iranian officials maintain that people have the right to stage protests to express their opinions, as long as the rallies comply with the legal conditions.