Iran's leader warns against exploiting protests to incite riots

TEHRAN, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Saturday that exploiting the Iranian merchants' protests to incite riots and undermine national security is "absolutely unacceptable."

He made the remarks during a meeting in Tehran with the families of those killed in the June 12-day war with Israel, commenting on recent protests by bazaar merchants over economic difficulties, particularly the sharp depreciation of Iran's national currency, according to the official news agency IRNA.

Khamenei said it was "not acceptable at all" for some individuals, "under various labels and names," to exploit the protests of the "faithful and honest" merchants to create unrest and insecurity.

He criticized the exploitation of these protests by "provoked or paid agents of the enemy" who chanted slogans against Iran and the Islamic Revolution.

Khamenei said officials should engage in dialogue with protesters, but not with rioters, whom he said should be "put in their place."

He acknowledged that the rial's depreciation had caused instability in the business environment, blaming the "enemy" for what he called the "unnatural" rise in foreign-currency exchange rates. He added that senior officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, were working to address it.

Protests have erupted since Sunday in several Iranian cities over the sharp depreciation of the rial. On Friday, Tehran said it rejects any interference in its internal affairs after U.S. President Donald Trump warned that Washington would act if Iran "kills peaceful protesters." Enditem