Iran leaders try to link protests to gun attack killing 15

By The Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s supreme leader and its president have tried to link the nationwide protests roiling the country to an Islamic State-claimed gun attack on a famous mosque that killed 15 people. The comments Thursday by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi come as Iran’s theocracy has been unable to contain the demonstrations, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after her detention by the country’s morality police. The protests, the most serious unrest to grip Iran since its 2009 Green Movement demonstrations, have grown to encompass anger over Iran’s cratered economy and its theocracy. Over 200 people have been killed amid a crackdown in Iran, with thousands of others arrested.