Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that the world must help Iranians, relying on protests, achieve change to free themselves from a government that has brought evil to their country and other states, including Ukraine, Reuters reported.
Zelensky, speaking in his nightly video address, described the protests sweeping Iran as an "uprising."
He said the unrest showed that Russia needed to reconsider its close ties with Iran, which had included the widespread use of Iranian "Shahid" drones in the nearly four-year war against Kiev.
"Every normal person on Earth very much wants the people of Iran to finally be happy enough to get rid of the regime that exists there and that has brought so much evil, including to Ukraine, and to other countries. It is important that the world does not miss this moment, when change is possible. Every leader, every country, international organizations must now get involved and help the people remove those who are responsible for what Iran has, unfortunately, become," Zelensky said.
The American human rights organization HRANA announced that it had confirmed the deaths of 572 people and the arrest of more than 10.000 people in the protests that began on December 28th.
The protests evolved from complaints about economic hardship to demands for the fall of the clerical establishment.
Russia and Iran have developed closer ties since the Kremlin ordered an invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Massoud Peskov signed a 20-year strategic partnership agreement last year, deepening military ties and boosting cooperation in a range of areas.
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