Biden condemns Iran’s violent crackdown on protesters, warning of ‘further costs’

President Joe Biden said Monday that the United States will impose “further charges” on Iran in response to the violent crackdown on “peaceful protesters” in the country.

He pledged to hold the country’s religious vice squad responsible for the treatment of women and protesters.

“The United States also holds responsible Iranian officials and entities, such as the Morality Police, who are responsible for using force to repress civil society,” Biden said in a statement.

This week, the United States will impose additional charges on perpetrators of violence against peaceful protesters. We will continue to hold Iranian officials accountable and support the rights of Iranians to protest freely,” he added.

Biden said he is “deeply concerned about reports of intensified violence against peaceful protesters in Iran, including students and women, who demand their equal rights and basic human dignity.”

“The United States stands behind Iranian women and all citizens of Iran who inspire the world with their courage.”

In September, dozens of people in Tehran stage a demonstration to protest the death of Mahsa Amini

People run away during clashes with riot police as students protest after Mahsa Amini’s death, in Tehran

President Biden to impose ‘further charges’ on Iran in response to violent crackdown on ‘peaceful protesters’ in country

Widespread street demonstrations sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, who died after her detention by vice squad for allegedly violating the country’s strict Islamic dress code, are in their third week.

They have become an open challenge to the Iranian leadership, with women burning their state-imposed headscarves and chants of ‘Death to the Dictator’ echoing in the dark from the streets and balconies.

Biden gave no indication of what measures he was considering.

Iran already has crippling US economic sanctions largely related to its controversial nuclear program that Tehran insists has civilian purposes only, but the international community suspects is secretly targeting building a nuclear weapon.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Monday that the United States and Israel are fueling unrest.

He broke weeks of silence to condemn what he called “riots” in the streets.

Speaking to a group of police students in Tehran, Khamenei said he was “heartbroken” by Amini’s death in police custody, calling it a “tragic incident.”

However, he denounced the protests as a foreign plot to destabilize Iran, echoing previous comments by the authorities.

“These riots were planned,” he said. “These riots and insecurities are designed by America and the Zionist regime, and their employees.”

On Monday, Iran closed its top technology university after an hours-long standoff between students and police that turned the prestigious institution into the latest flash point of protests and ended with hundreds of young people arrested.

Karine Jean-Pierre, White House press officer, said the students are “rightly involved in the Iranian government’s treatment of women and girls and its continued crackdown on peaceful protests.”

“This weekend’s repression is exactly the kind of behavior that is pushing Iran’s talented young people to leave the country, by the thousands, to seek their dignity and opportunities elsewhere,” she said.

“We are alarmed and shocked by reports of security authorities responding to peaceful protests by university students with violence and mass arrests.”

The demonstrations have tapped into a deep well of grievances in Iran, including the country’s social restrictions, political repression and ailing economy strangled by US sanctions. The unrest continues in Tehran and remote provinces, even as authorities have disrupted internet access and blocked social media apps.

Protests have also spread across the Middle East and to Europe and North America. Thousands poured onto the streets of Los Angeles to show solidarity. Police struggled with protesters outside Iranian embassies in London and Athens. Crowds chanted ‘Woman! To live! Freedom!’ in Paris.

Protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, who died after her detention by vice squad for allegedly violating the country’s strict Islamic dress code, are in their third week.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, spoke for the first time about the protests on Monday; he called them “riots” and blamed them on the United States and Israel

In his comments on Monday, Khamenei condemned scenes of protesters taking off their headscarves and setting fire to mosques, banks and police cars as “unnormal, unnatural actions.” He warned that “those who stir up unrest to sabotage the Islamic Republic deserve harsh persecution and punishment.”

Security forces have responded with tear gas, metal pellets and in some cases live fire, according to rights groups and widely shared images, although the scope of the crackdown remains unclear.

Iranian state television has reported that the death toll from violent clashes between protesters and security agents could rise to 41. Rights groups have given higher death tolls, with London-based Amnesty International saying it has identified 52 victims.

An untold number of people have been detained and local officials have reported at least 1,500 arrests. Security forces have arrested artists who have expressed support for the protests and dozens of journalists. Most recently on Sunday, authorities arrested Alborz Nezami, a reporter at an economic newspaper in Tehran.