TEHRAN- The violent suppression of pro-Palestine student protests in Western institutions, especially in the U.S., has drawn opprobrium from Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who noted that it reveals the actual essence of Western culture.

During a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Raisi made similar statements, calling the arrests of academics and students that followed the violent repression of anti-Zionist protests “another scandal for self-proclaimed advocates of freedom of expression.”

“Today, thanks to the blessing of pure blood of the oppressed martyrs of Gaza, the true face of Western civilization has become clearer to the people of the world that the claim to support freedom of expression do not adhere to anything other than maintaining their domination,” he said, according to the president’s official website.  

Calling the uprising of Western students, professors and elites in support of the oppressed people of Gaza as a big event with wide dimensions, the Iranian president said that “undoubtedly, this uprising and awakening against cruelty and crime and domination will not be extinguished by violence, beatings and arrests of professors and students who support the oppressed people of Gaza.”

In another part of his speech, Raisi emphasized the importance of managers’ control and supervision over the performance of their organizations, and stated, “What was raised from the beginning of the government under the title of managers’ guidance patrol emphasized the importance of supervision.”

He went on to express satisfaction with the reports of the economic officials of the government about reducing inflation, controlling and reducing the growth of liquidity and reducing the price of currency, and described the continuation of this process as requiring special control and care by the relevant institutions, and in this regard, deemed the regular formation of the Economic Council and the Market Regulation Headquarters necessary.

Raisi also described his plan to visit the 17th and 18th districts of Tehran as an action in line with provincial trips and close contact with the people of these areas in order to follow up and solve their problems, and by stating that the presence of officials among the people and close contact with them has no alternative in terms of effectiveness, and urged all the ministers to pay special attention to communicating with the people and listening to their problems and demands to plan for those sections of the society who are not able to communicate directly with the government officials.

Raisi’s comments coincided with widespread demonstrations against the Washington-backed Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in over 34,450 deaths and over 77,500 injuries since early October. These rallies have taken place at over 20 U.S. institutions and many more in Europe. 

The students are demanding that colleges cut links with firms that back the war being waged by the Israeli authorities on the beleaguered Palestinian territories. 

As they continue to demonstrate to demand a stop to Israel’s murder in Gaza, hundreds of students have reportedly been jailed and risk expulsion from campuses around the country, according to reports from American media. 

They said that U.S. police are present on college campuses in large numbers, with some even resorting to chemical irritants and Tasers to scatter students who were protesting the Israeli atrocities in Gaza during the previous seven months. 

Iran’s top human rights official denounced on Sunday the aggressive treatment of academics and students by the U.S., adding that the repression gives the occupying regime more confidence to carry out its crimes.

“Undoubtedly, the violent crackdown on student movements by the United States and other Western governments is in line with their policy of openly supporting the Zionist regime’s killings and war crimes,” Kazem Gharibabadi, the secretary of Iran's High Council for Human Rights, said in a letter to United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.

He warned that such an approach will encourage Israel to “continue warmongering, genocide and crimes against humanity in the occupied territories.”

“Attempts to suppress and silence the voices of protesting professors and students and intimidate them ... are in flagrant contradiction to the [Western] countries’ obligation to guarantee free speech, freedom of peaceful assembly, prohibition of arbitrary arrest, and the right to education under international treaties and conventions,” he added.