TEHRAN –Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said officials in Tehran are sure that the Iraqi people are vigilant enough not to allow foreigners to abuse their legitimate demands for a better life to create mayhem in Iraq.

“Officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran believe that the Iraqi people are vigilant and will not let others abuse their legitimate demands which have been recognized by the Iraqi government,” he told ICANA in an interview published on Wednesday.

Protests erupted on October 1 in Baghdad with demonstrators calling for better living conditions and quickly spread to other Iraqi cities, mainly in the south.

According to Press TV, Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman Saad Maan confirmed on Sunday that 104 people had been killed, including eight security officers, and more than 6,000 wounded in the protests.

Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, a member of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, told ISNA on October 5 that there are certain actors who seek to undermine security in Iraq by abusing peaceful demonstrations by people.

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the top Shia cleric of Iraq, has urged security forces and protesters to avoid violence.

In the letter read out by his representative Ahmed al-Safi during a sermon in the holy city of Karbala on October 4, the top cleric urged all parties to avoid violence.

He also criticized officials and political sides for failing to answer the demands of the people to fight corruption, urging them to heed the demands of the protesters “before it’s too late”.

NA/PA