Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are condemning the Iranian regime after the death of Mahsa Amini while in the custody of Iran‘s religious “morality police” earlier this month for allegedly wearing her headscarf too loosely in violation of the Islamic Republic’s dress code.
Large protests have spread to dozens of cities across Iran in the wake of the 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian’s death, and Western governments and private rights groups accuse Tehran of a brutal crackdown in an attempt to quash the country’s largest uprising against the regime in years.
Iran‘s intelligence agency on Friday arrested nine foreigners that Tehran claimed helped fuel the anti-hijab protests of the past two weeks, the state-run news agency IRNA reported, including citizens of Germany, Poland, Italy, France, the Netherlands and Sweden.
Senate Foreign Relations Commitee Chairman Robert Menendez led a bipartisan group of lawmakers from both chambers on Thursday in introducing a resolution to reaffirm the “United States’ support for the Iranian citizens who have taken to the streets in peaceful protest for their fundamental human rights, and condemning the Iranian security forces for their violent response.”
“Iranians must know that we in the U.S. Congress, across the United States and around the world see and honor their bravery and share in their hope for a free Iran that is at peace with its neighbors as well as its own people,” the New Jersey Democrat said.
