Iran protests: Supreme leader blames unrest on US and Israel

David Gritten / BBC News

Iran’s supreme leader has blamed the US and Israel for the anti-government protests sweeping the country, in his first public comments on the unrest.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said “riots” had been “engineered” by Iran’s arch-enemies and their allies, and alleged that Qurans had been burned. He also called on security forces to be ready to deal with further unrest.

The protests – the biggest challenge to his rule for a decade – were sparked by the death in custody of a woman.

Mahsa Amini, 22, fell into a coma hours after being detained by morality police on 13 September in Tehran for allegedly breaking the strict law requiring women to cover their hair with a hijab, or headscarf. She died three days later. Her family has alleged that officers beat her head against one of their...Read more, see tweets and videos here.