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Iran's supreme leader has made his first comments on the death of Mahsa Amini, following morality police custody. He said her death was heartbreaking, but he claimed the West, with the help of "traitorous Iranians abroad" have been engineering the ongoing anti-government protests that have swept the country.

Anti-government protests erupted in Iran on 17 September, after the death of Mahsa Amini, and have not subsided. In most recent days, Iranian police cracked down on students protesting at a prestigious university in Tehran. A video posted online appears to show students running away from security forces on motorbikes whilst gunshots ring out.

Saeid Golkar, assistant professor of political science at the University of Tennessee, says that "there is nothing new" about Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's speech: "I don't think he's trying to apologise or recognise any fault of the Islamic Republic... if he goes back one step, the revolution will come two steps forward."

(Photo: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attends a graduation ceremony for armed Forces Officers' Universities at the police academy in Tehran, Iran October 3, 2022. Credit: Reuters)

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