Iran president accuses US of ‘destabilization’ amid protests

By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s president has accused the U.S. of conducting a “failed policy of destabilization.” Ebrahim Raisi’s statement Thursday came as Iranians in cities nationwide held protests that have snowballed into calls for the downfall of Iran’s rulers. The unrest was sparked by the death of a 22-year-old woman earlier detained by the country’s morality police. Raisi has repeatedly portrayed the widespread unrest as a Western plot. Videos posted by protesters on social media Wednesday show security forces apparently firing toward demonstrators. Girls and women of all ages have removed their mandatory headscarves in the protests, which have become one of the greatest challenges to Iran’s theocracy in more than a decade.