Tehran: Iran’s foreign minister on Monday claimed authorities had fully restored control across the country following a deadly crackdown on nationwide protests, while the government accused the United States and Israel of backing “terrorists” it says were responsible for the violence.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made the remarks during a briefing with foreign diplomats in Tehran, according to Al Jazeera, one of the few international broadcasters still operating in Iran despite a sweeping internet shutdown. He alleged that demonstrations sparked by economic grievances were deliberately turned “violent and bloody” to provide an excuse for US President Donald Trump to intervene in Iran’s internal affairs.
The comments came amid reports from activists and human rights groups that several hundred people, including over 100 police personnel, have been killed during the past two weeks of unrest. Iranian authorities have not released an official death toll.
On Sunday, the Iranian administration announced three days of national mourning for what it described as “martyrs”, including members of the country’s security forces and the Basij volunteer militia. In a statement, the government said the victims were killed by “US- and Israeli-backed rioters” who were attempting to hijack peaceful economic protests and destabilise the country.
“The president and the administration will sit in mourning for Iran’s dear martyrs,” the statement said, comparing the violence to attacks carried out by the Daesh extremist group. It described the deaths as sacrifices made in defence of Iran’s “national resistance” against the United States and Israel, which officials repeatedly refer to as the “Zionist regime”.
The statement added that those killed included members of the Law Enforcement Force and the Basij, claiming that such violence had previously been witnessed only in attacks attributed to Daesh, a group Iranian officials have long accused Washington of indirectly supporting.
Araghchi further alleged there was “clear evidence” linking the unrest to terrorists connected to Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. He pointed to a recent social media post by former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, which referenced Mossad agents operating inside Iran, as proof of foreign involvement.
According to the foreign minister, Iranian police officers were being “executed by actual terrorists” under Mossad supervision, with the aim of escalating economic protests into broader unrest. He questioned whether the United States would tolerate similar violence within its own borders.
Araghchi also accused Washington of double standards, saying the Trump administration endorsed police brutality in the United States by labelling it “self-defence”, while urging other countries to remain silent over Iran’s response to violent rioters. He cited a fatal incident involving a US immigration agent in Minneapolis, arguing that American officials defended the agent while branding the victim a “domestic terrorist”.
In a post on X over the weekend, Araghchi warned the United States and Israel of consequences for what he described as their support for the unrest, saying Pompeo’s comments undermined US claims that Iran was “delusional” in accusing Washington and Tel Aviv of interference in its internal affairs.
