Iran‘s preeminent chief commended paramilitary workers entrusted with suppress disagree on Saturday in a broadcast address as many eye specialists cautioned that a rising number of demonstrators have been dazed by security powers during hostile to government fights. (Iran’s leader commends)
In an address to Basij members, the volunteer paramilitary arm of the elite Revolutionary Guard, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reiterated unsubstantiated claims that nationwide protesters are “mercenaries” and “tools” of the United States.
“(The) Basij shouldn’t fail to remember that the fundamental conflict is with worldwide authority,” Khamenei expressed, alluding to the U.S. The location stamping Basij week in Iran repeated past explanations bludgeoning the fights as an unfamiliar plot to undermine Iran.
“Sacrificed themselves in order to save people from a bunch of rioters and mercenaries,” Khamenei said, referring to the recent nationwide unrest, extolling the military and social virtues of the Basij over the decades. In order to stand up to oppression, they gave up their lives.
The Basij have led the crackdown on protests that began on September 17 and were sparked by the death of a young woman while she was being held by Iran’s morality police. Her death sparked protests for months over the country’s mandatory headscarf, but it quickly turned into one of the biggest challenges to Iran’s theocracy since the tumultuous years following the Islamic Revolution in 1979. (Iran’s leader commends)
According to social media, protests continued on Saturday at some universities in Tehran and other cities. Demonstrations have become more dispersed as a result of Iranian security forces’ severe nation-wide crackdown. Additionally, protesters have called for strikes at businesses.
According to the semi-official Tasnim news agency, Khamenei’s remarks came one day after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi met with a group of Basij members and praised their efforts to maintain security.
Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that was keeping an eye on the demonstrations, said that at least 448 people were killed and more than 18,000 people were arrested as a result of Iran’s brutal crackdown on dissent. Iran has not disclosed the number of people killed or arrested.
According to pro-reform Iranian news sites Sobhema and Iran International, as well as other social media sites, 140 ophthalmologists expressed concern about an increasing number of patients with severe eye injuries caused by rubber bullets and metal pellets. The letter, addressed to the head of the country’s ophthalmologists association, stated, “Unfortunately in many cases the hit caused the loss of sight in one or both eyes.”
The doctors asked the head of Iran’s Opthalmology Association to tell the people about their worries about security forces doing damage that can’t be fixed. (Iran’s leader commends)
It was the second letter from eye doctors expressing concerns regarding the use of rubber bullets and pellets by police to shoot demonstrators and others in the eyes. Over 200 ophthalmologists had previously signed a letter.
Last week, videos of law student Ghazal Ranjkesh, who lived in the southern city of Banda Abbas and was shot with a metal pellet on her way home from work, went viral on social media. She lost an eye.
