Page 17 - bne_newspaper_January_12_2018

Eurasia
January 12, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 17
Khamenei outlines claimed foreign plot behind Iran unrest and refers to Trump's “psychotic episodes”
bne IntelliNews
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claimed there was a foreign conspiracy backed by the US, UK and Israel and financed by “a wealthy government" (taken to mean Saudi Arabia) behind the demonstrations that broke out across Iran, causing at least 22 deaths over the new year period. He also added that Donald Trump’s “psychotic episodes won’t be left without
a response.”
Iranian intelligence reports, said Khamenei, indi- cated that "there's been a triangle pattern activating these events." He also singled out the UK as a culprit because of its continued broadcasting of the banned BBC Persian radio service into the Islamic Republic.
In a tweet, the supreme leader added: "Once again, the nation tells the US, Britain, and those who seek to overthrow the Islamic Republic of Iran from abroad that 'you've failed, and you will fail in the future, too'".
Khamenei also hit out at the “unstable” US presi- dent for grandstanding by tweeting support for pro- testers who rallied against the Iranian government.
On his official Twitter account, Khamenei said: “This man who sits at the head of the White House – although, he seems to be a very unstable man – he must realize that these extreme and psychotic episodes won’t be left without a response.”
Trump is due to announce on January 12 whether he will reimpose heavy sanctions on Iran which
Khamenei has warned Trump that his "extreme and psychotic episodes won’t be left without a response".
could lead to the destruction of the nuclear deal that led to the lifting of Western sanctions.
At least 22 people have died as a consequence of the unrest and officials were talking of around 1,000 arrests. However, Mahmoud Sadeghi,
a reformist politician who often serves as an independent voice in parliament, has claimed that around 3,700 people were actually arrested.
Khamenei conceded that some of the calls that were made by demonstrators were "honest and rightful demands," but did not elaborate.
Providing more details on those the ultra- conservative ruling elite claim were behind the disturbances, the supreme leader took aim at "henchmen" and members of the "MEK," a ref- erence to the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organisation (sometimes known as the MKO), or People's Mujahedin of Iran. The MEK is an exiled dissident group that backs the overthrow of Iran's leader- ship and Khamenei suggested it had been "hired as minions for this plot".
The US has rejected all claims that Washington or American intelligence agencies played a role in fomenting or organising the protests, which spiralled into a great number of nationwide demonstrations after a rally in the conservative second city of Mashhad was called to protest against economic hardship, such as that caused by high food price inflation and the burden of persistent unemployment.