Ultraconservative Iran paper says HQ attacked by ‘rioters’

The headquarters of Iran’s leading ultraconservative daily Kayhan was attacked by “rioters”, said the paper, which has described as “mercenaries” those protesting the death of Mahsa Amini in morality police custody.

Iran has been gripped by protests since September 16 over the death of 22-year-old Amini after she fell into a coma following her arrest for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code.

On Saturday, “thugs who have sparked riots in recent days…  gathered in front of the headquarters of the daily Kayhan, threw Molotov cocktails and tried to enter the building” in the capital Tehran, the paper said.

They also “shouted insults and slogans against the paper”, added Kayhan, whose director is appointed by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The building was partially damaged in the attack, the daily added.

Kayhan has described the nightly protests that have gripped Iran since Amini’s death as being staged by “mercenaries for the enemy”, and has called on authorities not to “spare the criminals”.

Dozens of protesters have been killed and more than a thousand have been arrested during the wave of protests that has swept the country. Members of the security forces have also been killed in the unrest.