President Joe Biden called on Iran to “end the violence against its own citizens,” in response to a deadly crackdown by security forces on protests in the country.
“We stand with the citizens and brave women of Iran,” Biden said Friday at the start of a speech in Irvine, California, on cutting health care costs. Biden acknowledged the presence of people in the crowd, some of whom wore shirts that said “Free Iran.”
Iran has been gripped by protests that broke out in early September after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in police custody. She had been arrested for allegedly violating the country’s strict Islamic dress codes.
