Iran’s foreign ministry has blamed Western “meddling” for the outbreak and growth of raging protests inside the country, which have now reached a full week, and have left at least 35 dead, according to the government’s official death toll. From Friday to Saturday this figure had more than doubled, with Tehran officials initially citing 17 dead, and then revising it upwards. This includes five security officers, according to state media, which has painted the “anti-hijab” demonstrations as violent. By Saturday evening, state media counted 41 among the deceased.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned the ambassadors of the United Kingdom and Norway on Sunday, 25 September, in reaction to the violent protests that have gripped the country.
On Sunday Iran summoned the ambassadors of the UK and Norway to condemn their governments for fueling the unrest:
The director-general of Western Europe within Iran’s foreign ministry called out Norway’s Parliament speaker for allegedly “prejudicing and unrealistic comments” about recent protests in Iran, according to Iran’s official news agency, IRNA.
The U.K. ambassador, meanwhile, was chastised for a London-based, Persian-language “hosting of the media” that Iran believes has produced “put provocation and invitation to turbulence and expansion of riots in Iran on top of their agenda,” according to a second report from IRNA.
According to the ministry, Iran summoned the UK ambassador over the “hostile atmosphere” created by several London-based Farsi news outlets.
Iran argued that the UK-based news agencies were interfering in its internal affairs and violating the country’s sovereignty.
In response to Iran’s criticism, a spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office responded by saying that “the UK is a fierce champion of media freedom and proud member of the Media Freedom Coalition.”
“We condemn the Iranian authorities’ crackdown on protestors, journalists, and internet freedom,” the spokesperson added.
Similarly, IRNA reported that the ministry summoned the Norwegian ambassador over “prejudicial and unrealistic statements” made by Masud Gharahkhani, a Norwegian of Iranian decent, who is the acting president of the Norwegian parliament.
Moreover, on the night of 24 September, a Molotov cocktail was thrown at the wall of the Iranian embassy in Athens.
Greek police reported that two people drove past the facility on a motorcycle and launched the Molotov cocktail toward the building. According to the statement, nobody was injured in the attack.
On the afternoon of 25 September, around 200 people gathered and protested at the famous Syntagma Square in Athens to denounce “the crackdown on protests” following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.
The embassies of the Islamic Republic have become targets across Europe.
On 23 September, the government of Iran issued an official complaint against Sweden and Belgium for attacks perpetrated against the Iranian embassies in Stockholm and Brussels.
According to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961), a host country is responsible for the safety of foreign embassies and their staff.
Protests to demand answers and justice for the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini have erupted across several Iranian cities as well as in several countries in the west.
Amini, a Kurdish woman, died in hospital three days after fainting in the public waiting room of a Tehran police station, where the moral security police summoned her for the alleged improper wearing of the hijab, a mandatory item of clothing for women in the Islamic Republic The Cradle reports.
Iranian authorities have moved to curtail the spread of protests by restricting internet services across much of the country, as well as blocking various social media platforms.
Washington is meanwhile encouraging the protests while condemning the crackdown, and has even moved to help Iranian demonstrators access the internet and external platforms. The US Treasury Department on Friday announced the “easing” of restrictions on tech companies’ access to Iran, in the hopes they could provide work-arounds to Tehran cutting communications and internet.
According to the latest developments, “SpaceX chief Elon Musk said he was activating his company’s Starlink internet service in Iran, after the U.S. Treasury Department “eased ” sanctions to help support the free flow of information in the country.”