Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting via video conference with people from East Azarbaijan in Tehran, Iran, 17 February 2022; Credit: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader / WANA (West Asia News Agency) / Handout via Reuters

(Reuters) - On Saturday 4 June 2022, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed recent protests in Iran on foreign "enemies" seeking to overthrow the Islamic Republic.

He also said the United States (US) and its allies were waging a "psychological war" against Iran by accusing it of piracy for seizing two Greek ships after the US confiscated Iranian oil from a tanker.

"Today, the enemies’ most important hope for striking a blow at the country is based on popular protests", Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, referring to week-long protests over the collapse of a building in southwestern Iran last month that killed 37 people. "They hope to turn the people against the Islamic establishment and the Islamic Republic through psychological work, activities on the internet and cyberspace ... and by spending money and recruiting mercenaries".

"But the enemies’ calculation is as wrong as many earlier ones", he said in a televised speech on the 33rd anniversary of the death of the leader of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Authorities have blamed the collapse of the ten-storey residential and commercial building in Abadan on local corruption and lax safety and say thirteen people, including mayors and other officials, have so far been arrested for construction violations.

Protesters, however, say the disaster stemmed from government negligence and entrenched graft and have chanted slogans against officials, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iranians have reported disrupted internet services, an apparent attempt to stop the use of social media to organise rallies and disseminate videos. Authorities have warned people to follow just official media and eschew "rumours" from social media.

The US, which has imposed tough sanctions on Iran, confiscated the Iranian oil cargo on the Iranian-flagged Pegas that Greece impounded off its coast in April 2022. Tehran retaliated by seizing two Greek ships on 27 May 2022.

Yet the world's media accuses Iran of piracy, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said. "Who is the pirate here? You stole our oil. We took it back from you. Taking back a stolen good is no theft".