[guest post by Dana]

Masih Alinejad was on Bill Maher’s show this weekend likening compulsory hijab to the Berlin Wall:

1. Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, reacted to @BillMaher's show!
Yesterday, I said "For the Islamic Republic and Taliban, compulsory hijab is like the Berlin wall, now we are tearing the wall down and the Islamic Republic will fall" #MahsaAmini#IranRevolution pic.twitter.com/XcMsnkBA7C

— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) October 3, 2022

Here is what Iran’s Khamenei said about the ongoing protests in a fractured Iran. Unsurprisingly, he blamed the usual suspects for the civil unrest because he is a lunatic. But I think a worried one too:

“I say frankly that these incidents were designed by America, the fake Zionist regime, those who are on their payroll and some traitorous Iranians abroad who helped them. Their main problem is with a strong and independent Iran and the progress of the country,” Khamenei said in a speech Monday.

He said Amini’s death “broke our hearts,” but the reaction of the protesters before the investigation was completed was not normal.

“They made the streets unsafe, burned Qurans, removed hijab from veiled women’s heads, set fire to mosques and people’s cars,” Khamenei said.

He defended the Iranian police and the Basij paramilitary militia for cracking down on the protests. “If it wasn’t for this young girl, they would have created another excuse to create insecurity and riots in the country,” Khamenei added, referring to the U.S. and Israel.

He said that the fact the U.S. provided internet services to the demonstrators so that they can communicate easily is proof that “there is a foreign hand behind these events.” He was referring to the U.S. move to ease some sanctions to allow tech companies to expand internet access in the country.

This as the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran have hit a wall:

Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Wednesday said that talks were “at a stage where there are just a couple of issues remaining on the table, but which are very significant and important.”

“The issue of guarantees is very important to us,” Amir-Abdollahian said. “The American side has taken some steps towards giving us guarantees. We just need these guarantees to become a little bit more complete.”

[Darrell] Issa said the outstanding issues center around sanctions that target Iran’s terrorism enterprise.

“They want concessions as to their basic sanctions for being a terrorist state, and it’s a bridge that neither Republicans nor Democrats will allow them to cross,” said Issa.

Also, the timing of trying to come to a deal with Iran couldn’t come at a worse time:

A senior congressional source familiar with the briefing told the Free Beacon that negotiations should be shut down as a result of Iran’s crackdown on anti-regime protests, which are sweeping the country.

“In diplomacy as in business, the side that wants a deal will find their negotiating position only gets weaker and their number of concessions just keep piling up,” the source said. “I can’t think of a worse time to negotiate with the regime than when it’s mowing down its people in the streets.”

Along those same lines: “We should take a cue from the protestors in the streets: a regime that so easily kills women isn’t one the United States can do business with.”

–Dana