Amid protests, Biden vows to ‘free Iran’

President Biden told a crowd of supporters that the U.S. is going to help free Iran. Iran wants Russia to help it develop nuclear weapons. And Iran may be moments away from launching an attack on Saudi Arabia.

It was quite a week of developments for Iran, as the Islamic Republic stands on the brink of another potential revolution. In mid-September, a young Iranian woman named Mahsa Amini died while in police custody. She’d been arrested by Iran’s Morality Police for allegedly wearing her head scarf wrong. Since then, thousands of people have been protesting in the streets against what they call a repressive regime. Most of the protests are led by young people and are largely non-violent.

However, that hasn’t stopped Iranian police from killing more than 200 people and arresting more than a thousand. Iranian-Americans are intensifying their calls on the Biden administration to cease all talks of a new nuclear agreement with Iran.

At a campaign rally Thursday, President Biden responded to supporters in the crowd holding up “Free Iran” messages.

“Don’t worry, we’re going to free Iran,” Biden said. “They’re going to free themselves pretty soon.”

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was quick to criticize Biden’s comments on Friday. Speaking at a rally to mark the anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Raisi said, “Iran was freed 43 years ago and is determined not to be captured by the U.S.”

The breakdown in an already tenuous relationship between the U.S. and Iran is already having ripple effects.

Both the Saudi and U.S. forces in the region went on high alert this week. Intelligence reports indicated Iran was preparing to attack Saudi Arabia for helping the U.S. foment dissent in Iran. Iran is also trying to take advantage of growing ties with Russia.

According to CNN, U.S. intelligence reports said Iran has been asking Russia for help in both obtaining and making nuclear materials.

Russia had been a partner in the global effort to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Since the two countries now share a pariah-state status, however, it seems their relationship is growing a bit more complicated.