Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, in a televised address to the nation, said though Mahsa Amini's death has saddened the nation, 'chaos' was not acceptable. He made the statement as protests raged over Amini's custodial death. The demonstrations, that started on September 16, the day of Amini's death, have snowballed into anti-government protests. Protesters have been demanding that the Islamic clerical establishment, which has been in power for nearly four decades, step down.
"We all are saddened by this tragic incident ... (However)Chaos is unacceptable," Raisi said in an interview with state TV, Reuters reported. "The government's red line is our people's security ... One cannot allow people to disturb the peace of society through riots,” he added.
Protesters continued to persist, chanting "Death to the dictator,” despite authorities coming down hard on them with tear gas and live ammunition — as of Tuesday over 75 have been killed. People have been taking to the streets in 80 cities around the country.
Protests over Amini's death is the first big show of dissent since people came out to protest a rise in gasoline prices in 2019, which was quashed by authorities. Women have also been raising the slogan, “Woman, Life, Freedom!", cutting their hair and burning hijabs as a sign of protest against Iran's strict rules on hijab headscarves and modest clothing. Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who spent six years in jail in Iran, cut her hair and shared the video shared on the BBC Persian service. The protesters have been gaining support from women all over the world, with many of them posting videos of them cutting their hair and burning hijabs.
