Speaking in an interview with US's National Public Radio (NPR), Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian briefed on Tehran's position regarding recent domestic developments.
In reaction to the question about the action of Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Khamenei in pardoning tens of thousands of rioters arrested in the recent riots, Amirabdollahian said that on the occasion of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution pays special attention to the issue of clemency and mercy. And, therefore, the decree is to release all these detainees, save for those who have committed murder or other serious crimes.
He added, "No student whatsoever was detained at the universities or premises of the universities during the riots. In fact, those who were detained were people who played a role in the riots on the streets."
In response to the question about the number of people arrested in the recent riots, the Foreign Minister underlined that first, it should be noted that the use of tens of thousands for the number of detainees is not accurate. Even if these statistics are from human rights groups, they have been "played up."
He highlighted that despite high tension during the riots, the police were not allowed to carry firearms. However, American and Israeli armament came through from some of “our neighboring countries” with little stability and was used to escalate the clashes by the mob.
Answering a question about the alleged situation of journalists in Iran, Amirabdollahian noted, "We cannot confirm the detention of journalists in Iran. It's very easy to relabel the person who has been detained. You could, at any moment, call that person in question a defendant of human rights, a journalist, among others."
"No journalist was detained during riots,” Amirabdollahian said, adding, “Just two weeks ago, something happened in Iran. A scammer was to flee Iran. What he did, in order to help his escape, was to post videos on social media saying that – claiming that he was a protester, that he was subjected to torture. But in fact, he was a scammer and a fraudulent person ... He was arrested by the police."
"You see, the West has carefully and meticulously targeted the riots. Allow me to ask this question to you. You see, there was a lot of maneuvering on Mahsa Amini by Western media. But when it comes to Shireen Abu Akleh, did they really cover her?"
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