Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi: Those who incited the people's protests are 'waging war against God'

Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, a senior cleric of the Islamic Republic regime, called on Iran's hardline judiciary to take severe action against dissidents who have protested against the regime and, according to him, have caused distress to the regime over the past ten days. In a Friday prayer sermon at a mosque in Tehran, Yazdi stated that those who incited the people's protests in favor of democracy are enemies of God and 'waging war against God.' This accusation carries a death penalty under religious law. Yazdi emphasized that the Islamic Republic's judiciary should not show leniency towards the demonstrators as they have endangered the country's security. His harsh words come at a time when the number of protesters around Tehran University, the center of anti-regime protests, had decreased compared to previous nights. Protests in Tehran and several other major cities in Iran have been ongoing for several days. The police crackdown on demonstrators, aimed at quelling the student uprising, has led to the arrest of hundreds over the past ten days. In his sermon, Ayatollah Yazdi also directed some of his anger towards the United States, claiming that the U.S. openly encourages Iranians to oppose the Islamic Republic regime. Yazdi stated that Iran is not like Afghanistan or Iraq, and if the Iranian people's country or religion is threatened, they will fight against the U.S. to the last drop of their blood.