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  • Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says 'enemies' are seeking to incite public

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says 'enemies' are seeking to incite public
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. (File photo AFP)

The National reported, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday "enemies" are fuelling unrest in the country, in attempts to overthrow the government.

"The enemies have counted on public protests in order to put people against the Islamic Republic," Mr Khamenei said in a speech marking the 33rd anniversary of the death of the leader of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. "Surely the enemy’s forecast is wrong, like many of its other ones," he added.

According to The National, street protests across several provinces in Iran have simmered in recent weeks over a new cut in state food subsidies nearly a year after President Ebrahim Raisi took office.

It said that the latest protests underscore a crippling economic crisis and stalled negotiations with major powers over the country’s controversial nuclear enrichment.

A file photo shows Iranians walk past the branch of a local bank that was damaged during demonstrations against petrol price hikes, on November 20, 2019 in Shahriar, west of Tehran. (File photo: AFP)

"They think they can cause confrontation between people and the Islamic Republic, which is wrong because the Islamic Republic attaches great importance to people," IRNA news agency quoted Mr Khamenei as saying, referring to the "enemies". "The nature of the Islamic Republic is against oppression."

The government has sharply raised the price of some basic goods, such as cooking oil and flour-based staples.

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People in some cases snatched loaves of bread from shop shelves before the prices increased.

For months teachers have protested, demanding better pay, working conditions, and education reforms.

Source: thenational