Washington: The protests in Iran have transcended national and geographical borders

Ned Price: Washington's focus is no longer on reviving the nuclear deal, but rather on supporting basic freedoms for the Iranian people and on the increasing cooperation of Tehran and Moscow in the Ukrainian war

US State Department spokesman Ned Price said, during a press conference, that the protests in Iran are spontaneous, have crossed national and geographical borders, and have no leadership, in a way, and therefore the protesters were able to continue their efforts in a way that was not possible in the previous protests.

In response to a question about the recent joint message of prominent opposition figures, Price said: "It is up to the Iranian people to decide how to organize their activity. It is also the duty of the United States to support freedom of expression and assembly and all people's freedoms," according to what was reported by the "Iran International" website.

The US official stressed that Washington's focus is no longer on reviving the nuclear agreement, especially since September, but rather on supporting the basic freedoms of the Iranian people and on the increasing cooperation of the Iranian regime and Russia in the Ukrainian war.

The Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee in the US Congress, Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, praised the courage of the Iranian demonstrators and their continued protests against the regime despite its severe crackdown.

"The crowds continue week after week in places like Zahedan, Sistan, and Baluchistan," he said in a tweet on his Twitter account, adding that "they were not stopped by the Iranian regime's shutdown of the Internet and the violent crackdowns that resulted in hundreds of deaths in the towns of these demonstrators."

Referring to the US government's actions against the Iranian regime due to the suppression of the Iranian people's protests and the cooperation of Tehran and Moscow, Ned Price emphasized the continuation and tightening of these measures.

The Democratic senator also called on Iranian activists not to surrender to the regime, praising the Iranian chess player Sarah, who left for Spain, and said, "The chess player Sarah and her ilk must choose between defending the basic level of human rights or returning to their country," and warned, "The Iranian regime offers few options to those who not be suppressed.”

Since September 16, Iran has been witnessing protests following the death of the young woman, Mahsa Amini, 22, three days after she was arrested by the "morality police" for not adhering to the strict rules of dress in Iran. Hundreds of people were killed during the protests by the fire of the security forces. The authorities also arrested thousands of people who participated in the movements, which included raising slogans against them. In addition to the increasing pace of executions against protesters.

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