TEHRAN – Judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani said on Monday that prosecutors should separate “deceived” people from “rioters” in dealing with cases of persons who were arrested during the recent protests in some cities across Iran.

Sporadic protests, which first started in Mashhad on December 28, spread to some other cities in the country. The demonstrations died down after a week. The protests were motivated by economic problems, corruption, and unemployment but vandals misused the situation to attack police stations and religious sites. 

U.S. President Donald Trump took advantage of the unrest and took to twitter to level accusations against Iran in numerous posts.

Amoli Larijani said the rioters will pay the price, otherwise they will pose threats against the country’s security.

He also said, “The U.S. practicing animosity towards Iran and spending money to cause chaos in Iran are not something new. The fact that they spent millions of dollars to cause unrest and insecurity in Iran, especially in recent protests, is an important issue.”

“The enemy insists on its enmity and seeks to change political system in Iran. The enemies have always sought to impose their favorable liberal system on the world,” the top judge remarked.

NA/PA