Iran president says US blockade aims to spark protests

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Thursday that Iran was facing its most intense blockade since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and accused the United States of trying to provoke public protests.

In a speech broadcast by state television, Pezeshkian said Iran had not faced such intense “blockade, war and difficulties” in the 48 years since the revolution. He accused Washington of seeking to make daily life harder for Iranians so that “social protests” would emerge and the United States could achieve what he called its objectives.

The United States imposed a blockade on Iranian ports after Tehran closed the Strait of Hormuz, diverting or stopping vessels travelling to and from Iranian ports.

Iran and the United States have been at war since February 28, when US and Israeli strikes killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran has repeatedly accused the United States and Israel of fomenting unrest inside the country. In recent months, it has executed several Iranians accused of collaborating with its foes.

In late December last year, protests over the cost of living erupted in Iran, spread nationwide and developed into a wider anti-government movement. Iran’s rulers blamed the United States and Israel for that unrest.