Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah speaks via a video link in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, Lebanon, January 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
BEIRUT, Lebanon — The leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group said Saturday that the death of Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in Iranian police custody was a “vague incident” that was being exploited against Tehran.
A wave of street violence has rocked Iran since Amini, 22, died after her arrest by the morality police for allegedly failing to observe the Islamic republic’s strict dress code for women.
In a speech on Saturday, Hassan Nasrallah said that her death, in circumstances he said remained unclear, was being exploited to incite the protests.
“The Iranian state is a target and so any incident is exploited… to incite against this state,” Nasrallah said.
“This vague incident was exploited and people took to the streets,” he said, referring to Amini’s death.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories
The Hezbollah chief, whose terror group is backed by Iran, said that the protests rocking the country do not reflect the true will of the Iranian people who he said are loyal to their leadership.
Syrian Kurdish women take part in a demonstration in Syria’s northeastern city of Hasakeh on September 25, 2022, to express their support for 22-year-old Mahsa Amini (portrait), who died while in the custody of Iranian authorities. (Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP)
Iran “is stronger than ever and will not be affected,” he said.
Protests were held across Iran for a 15th consecutive night on Friday, despite a bloody crackdown that the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights group says has claimed more than 80 lives.
Advertisement
It is the bloodiest unrest in Iran since a ruthless crackdown on demonstrations in November 2019 over a sudden hike in fuel prices that killed at least 304 people, according to Amnesty International.
Iran has blamed outside forces for the nationwide protests.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel