TEHRAN, Iran
\nIranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday blamed recent protests in Iran on foreign \u201cenemies\u201d seeking to overthrow the government in the Islamic Republic.
\nAlso, he said, enemies were waging a \u201cpsychological war\u201d against Iran by accusing it of piracy for seizing two Greek ships after the United States confiscated Iranian oil from a tanker.
\n\u201cToday, the enemies\u2019 most important hope for striking a blow at the country is based on popular protests,\u201d Khamenei said, referring to week-long protests over the collapse of a building in southwestern Iran last month that killed 37 people.
\n\u201cBut the enemies\u2019 calculation is as wrong as many earlier ones,\u201d he said in a televised speech on the 33rd anniversary of the death of the leader of Iran\u2019s 1979 Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
\nAuthorities have blamed the collapse of the 10-storey residential and commercial building in Abadan on local corruption and lax safety and say 13 people, including mayors and other officials, have so far been arrested for construction violations.
\nProtesters, however, say the disaster stemmed from government negligence and entrenched graft and have chanted slogans against officials, including Khamenei.
\nIran residents have reported disrupted internet services, an apparent attempt to stop the use of social media to organise rallies and disseminate videos. Authorities have warned people to follow just official media and eschew \u201crumours\u201d from social media.
\nThe United States, which has imposed tough sanctions on Iran, confiscated the Iranian oil cargo on the Iranian-flagged Pegas that Greece impounded off its coast in April. Tehran retaliated by seizing two Greek ships on May 27.
\nBut, Khamenei said, world media accuse Iran of piracy. \u201cWho is the pirate here? You stole our oil. We took it back from you. Taking back a stolen good is no theft.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TEHRAN, Iran Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday blamed recent protests in Iran on foreign \u201cenemies\u201d seeking to overthrow the government in the Islamic Republic. Also, he said, enemies were waging a \u201cpsychological war\u201d against Iran by accusing it of piracy for seizing two Greek ships after the United States confiscated Iranian oil […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":264586,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[3228,1227,8147,8148],"class_list":{"0":"post-264575","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-enemies","9":"tag-iran","10":"tag-islamic-republic","11":"tag-khamenei"},"yoast_head":"\n