Is Khamenei Taking Responsibility for the Protests?

Ayatollah Khamenei has taken responsibility for the “costs of all recent decisions” — referring to the rise in gas prices and the ensuing protests — according to cleric Ali Saeedi Shahroudi, the head of the Political and Ideological Office of the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, i.e., Khamenei [Persian link].

Speaking on Wednesday, November 20, Saeedi said the government had not expected such huge protests. But he described people who went out on the street to voice their anger about the increase in gas prices as “seditionists” and called for authorities to identify the “hidden operators” behind the recent unrest. “The sagacity of the Supreme Leader and the people’s refusal to side with the seditionists and agitators are the two important factors that have foiled sedition,” he said. “Unfortunately, as a result of a certain lack of foresight and failure to take preventive measures, now there is another sedition, the extent of which is not yet very clear.”

Saeedi, however, saw a silver lining in the protests. “Despite many damages done by such seditions, they have also played a purifying role, meaning that the revolution filters individuals,” he said. “We must identify and expose the nature of the culprits involved in the sedition of November 16,” the date the protests began to spread rapidly,  eventually spreading to over 100 cities. Since then at least 106 people have been killed.

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