Iran's Khamenei says protesters' concerns valid, but warns of 'enemy hand' behind unrest

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN (AA) - In his first public reaction to the ongoing protests across the country, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday said the concerns of merchants are legitimate, but warned there is a “hand of the enemy” behind the recent currency fluctuations.

Speaking to a gathering in Tehran, the Iranian leader said the merchant class and shopkeepers are among “the most loyal segments of the country to the Islamic system.”

He noted that the recent protests were largely led by shopkeepers, and that their concerns over the constant fluctuations in the national currency, the rial, are valid.

“When a bazaar merchant looks at the country’s monetary situation, the decline in the value of the national currency and the instability of currency prices, domestic and foreign, which causes the business environment to lack stability, he says ‘I can’t do business.’ He is telling the truth,” Khamenei said, expressing support for the merchants.

He was quick to add that government officials are “seeking to remedy the problem,” while inferring that there is also a “hand of the enemy” behind the recent developments.

Khamenei said the surge and unrestrained rise in the price of foreign currency, and its instability—leaving shopkeepers uncertain about their future—is “not natural.”

“This is the work of the enemy. Of course, it must be stopped. With various measures, both the president and the heads of the other branches, as well as other officials, are trying to set things right. Therefore, the bazaaris’ protest was about this issue is a valid one,” Khamenei said.

“What is important is that a group of provoked, mercenary agents of the enemy stand behind the bazaaris and chant slogans against Islam, against Iran, and against the Islamic Republic.”

He said protests are justified, but emphasized that they are “different from rioting,” and that officials must talk with protesters, not with rioters.

The Iranian leader said some individuals, acting with the intent to make the country insecure, “exploit the protests of merchants and create unrest,” describing such actions as “unacceptable.”

“One must recognize the enemy’s actions, the enemy does not sit idle and exploits every opportunity. Here they saw an opportunity and wanted to take advantage of it,” he stated.

Iran has been rocked by widespread protests in recent weeks amid a deteriorating economy and the rapid depreciation of the rial, which has crossed 1,350,000 against the US dollar.

There have also been incidents of violence, with reports of several deaths, including those of protesters and police officers in different cities.

The government has held several rounds of talks with representatives of shopkeepers in an effort to address the situation, which has taken an especially ugly turn in the capital, Tehran.

US President Donald Trump said in a post on Friday that Washington would “come to the rescue” of protesters if Tehran uses lethal force against them, a remark that sparked angry reactions from top Iranian officials.