"Those who torture protesters in Iran will have to pay more"
US President Joe Biden says that those who torture peaceful protesters in Iran will have to pay more.
According to the news agency AFP, in a statement issued on Monday night, the US president issued a statement saying that Iran will pay a "higher price" for taking violent measures against the ongoing protests across the country. Protests continue in Iran after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the moral police on September 16. Mahsa Amini was arrested for violating Iran's legally mandated hijab laws. In his statement, the American president said that this week, the United States will take steps to make the perpetrators of violence against peaceful protesters pay more
Biden added that he was "deeply concerned" by reports of severe repression of protesters and that Washington "stands with all citizens of Iran who are inspiring the world with their bravery." However, President Biden has not given any indication of what steps he is considering. Iran is already under US economic sanctions related to its controversial nuclear program. Anti-government protests have continued in Iran since the death last month of Mehsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman in police custody for not wearing the hijab properly. Protests later spread across Iran from Amini's home province of Kurdistan, with many women burning their headscarves and cutting off their hair in protest. According to Reuters, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi warned that despite the outrage over Mahsa Amini's death, public security is a "red line for the government" and that no one is allowed to break the law and spread chaos.
Many countries of the world, including the United States, have expressed their support for the ongoing protests in Iran and expressed their concerns about the government's crackdown. A few days ago, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi not to use "excessive force" against protesters who took to the streets after the death of a young woman in police custody. Opposition media outlets based abroad say large-scale protests are underway in various Iranian cities, but activists say an internet blackout is making it difficult to share video footage. The international human rights organization Amnesty International has also said regarding these protests that "security forces are targeting the protesters and their supporters with "merciless violence". White House press secretary Karen Jean-Pierre stressed on Monday that "problems with Iran's behavior" are separate from efforts to restore the 2015 nuclear deal, which Washington has "as long as we believe" in place. will act, it is in the interests of US national security. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has accused the US and Israel of fomenting the uprising in Iran.