Iran’s Khamenei backs police over Mahsa Amini protests, may signal tougher crackdown | Reuters

Within hours after Amini’s funeral in the Kurdish town of Saqez on Sept. 17, thousands of Iranians poured into the streets across the country, with people burning pictures of Khamenei and chanting “Death to the dictator”, according to videos on social media.

Still, there is little chance of a collapse of the Islamic Republic in the near term, since its leaders are determined not to show the kind of weakness they believe sealed the fate of the U.S.-backed Shah in 1979, officials and analysts told Reuters.

However, the unrest calls into the question the priority that has defined Khamenei’s rule – the survival at any cost of the four-decade-old Islamic Republic and its religious elite.

“Those who ignited unrest to sabotage the Islamic Republic deserve harsh prosecution and punishment,” said Khamenei.

The protests have not abated despite a growing death toll and an increasingly violent crackdown by security forces using tear gas, clubs and – in some cases, according to videos on social media and rights groups – live ammunition.

via www.reuters.com