Pro-government counter-protesters try to change narrative

Friday's pro-government demonstrations showed the strength of the Islamic Republic, President Ebrahim Raisi said, adding that turmoil would not be tolerated. "The people's presence (in the marches) today, is the power and the honour of the Islamic Republic," Raisi, facing the biggest protests since 2019, said on live television after returning from New York where he attended the United Nations General Assembly. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres met with Raisi in New York on Thursday and raised human rights issues, a U.N. spokesperson said.