BEIRUT, Lebanon — The leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group said Saturday that the death of Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in Iranian police custody was a “vague incident” that was being exploited against Tehran.
A wave of street violence has rocked Iran since Amini, 22, died after her arrest by the morality police for allegedly failing to observe the Islamic republic’s strict dress code for women.
In a speech on Saturday, Hassan Nasrallah said that her death, in circumstances he said remained unclear, was being exploited to incite the protests.
“The Iranian state is a target and so any incident is exploited… to incite against this state,” Nasrallah said.
“This vague incident was exploited and people took to the streets,” he said, referring to Amini’s death.
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The Hezbollah chief, whose terror group is backed by Iran, said that the protests rocking the country do not reflect the true will of the Iranian people who he said are loyal to their leadership.
Syrian Kurdish women take part in a demonstration in Syria’s northeastern city of Hasakeh on September 25, 2022, to express their support for 22-year-old Mahsa Amini (portrait), who died while in the custody of Iranian authorities. (Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP)
Iran “is stronger than ever and will not be affected,” he said.
Protests were held across Iran for a 15th consecutive night on Friday, despite a bloody crackdown that the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights group says has claimed more than 80 lives.
It is the bloodiest unrest in Iran since a ruthless crackdown on demonstrations in November 2019 over a sudden hike in fuel prices that killed at least 304 people, according to Amnesty International.
Iran has blamed outside forces for the nationwide protests.
