TEHRAN — Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi has condemned the U.S. government’s brutal crackdown on protests over the killing of an unarmed African-American man by the police in Minneapolis, urging Washington to let the American people breathe.

“Stop violence against your people and let them breathe,” Mousavi said during a press conference on Monday, pointing to the eruption of demonstrations in major U.S. cities in protest at the tragedy of death of George Floyd.

“The world has heard your outcry over the state oppression. The world is standing with you,” he said, Tasnim reported.

He also censured the U.S. government for its destructive domestic and foreign policies, adding, “The American regime is perusing violence and bullying at home and abroad. We are greatly sad to see, along with the people across the world, the violence the U.S. police have recently unfolded.”

“We deeply regret to see the American people, who seek respect and no more violence, are suppressed and met with outmost violence,” Mousavi said.

The demonstrations came as Derek Chauvin, the officer involved in Floyd’s death, was arrested and charged with one count each of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

MH/PA