Iran media blames humiliating World Cup loss on protests in Hong Kong.
An editorial in the official website of Iran’s state-owned Mehr news agency on Tuesday accused the organizers of the “anti-Islamic and anti-government protests” in Hong Kong of provoking unrest in “one of the most dynamic and most prosperous cities” in the world.
The editorial began by calling protests in Hong Kong “unprecedented in scope and scale” and “unusual in scale and duration.” The government of Hong Kong did not respond to the allegations.
“As soon as this event took place, the protests became unprecedented in number,” the editorial said. “As soon as this event took place, the protests became unprecedented in scope, in terms of number and lengthiness.”
Iranian state-run Iranian TV channel IRIB also blamed the protest movement on Hong Kong protesters.
“The Hong Kong protests took place and has been going on since June,” the channel’s reporter said. IRIB added that while protest leaders had “already announced the formation of a [Hong Kong] independence force” in response to the movement, the movement had become “a reality, and the authorities are struggling.”
Earlier in the day, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi blamed “the Hong Kong protests” for the protests, which broke out in Hong Kong in June. “Iran has been maintaining good relations with Hong Kong and other countries,” Qasemi said, before adding: “The protests in Hong Kong are a phenomenon that cannot be ignored for [the] time being.”
Hong Kong protesters also accused Iran of backing the demonstrators.
“We have established relations with the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and it is our firm belief that [its] peaceful existence and stability depends on our support on the grounds of common humanity,” Hong Kong’s pro-democracy leader Carrie Lam said in a statement on Sunday.
At the same time, many pro-democracy activists have criticized the Hong Kong protest movement, including some who support Iran’s regime, as another manifestation of Chinese Communist party-led globalization.
In mid-July, the pro-democracy Civic Party held a summit in Hong Kong, attended by top Iranian officials
