IRGC Reveals 20 Foreign Spy Agencies Had Hand in Last Fall’s Iran Protests

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Secret services from almost 20 countries played an active role in organizing the anti-government protests that took place in Iran last fall, Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Intelligence Organization Mohammad Kazemi said on Tuesday.

"The United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, Canada, Belgium, Austria, Albania, Australia, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Bahrain, New Zealand and Israel are among countries that were active during the protests," Kazemi was quoted by a Iranian news agency as saying.

Riots broke out in Iran in mid-September in connection with the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini. The 22-year-old woman died in a hospital in Tehran after suffering a heart attack and falling into a coma after an argument with a minder at a morality police facility over the alleged improper wearing of a hijab. A day after her death, rumors spread that she had been beaten into a coma by police, with these claims sparking protests in the capital which quickly spread to other major population centers. However, medical records and security camera footage released by the government later showed that Amini did not appear to have suffered any physical mistreatment at the hands of the authorities.

The situation escalated into calls for the overthrow of Iran's clerical ruler. Tehran believes the unrest was instigated from abroad.