In a sweeping and politically charged ruling, a court in Tehran has ordered the United States to pay $22 billion in damages for allegedly supporting the nationwide protests that erupted across Iran in 2022 after the death of Mahsa Amini. The decision, announced Tuesday by Iran’s judiciary, marks one of Tehran’s most aggressive attempts yet to pin responsibility for domestic unrest on Washington.
Tehran Claims Washington ‘Morally and materially’ Backed Protesters
According to a court spokesperson, the U.S. played a direct role in “many crimes committed in Iran,” including what the regime describes as the “ominous events of autumn 2022.”
“The Tehran court has ordered the United States government to pay more than $22 billion for providing material and moral support to the protesters,” the spokesperson declared.
Iran’s leaders have repeatedly framed the protests — which saw months of demonstrations, violent crackdowns, and global outrage — as a foreign-backed conspiracy orchestrated by the United States and Israel. Officials claim this alleged interference resulted in deaths, injuries, and widespread damage to both public and private property.
Mahsa Amini’s Death Sparked the Biggest Uprising in Years
The unrest began in September 2022 after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman, died while in custody of Iran’s morality police, detained for allegedly violating strict dress-code rules. Her death, which critics say was caused by police brutality, ignited the largest anti-regime uprising in Iran in decades.
Hundreds of protesters were killed, including security personnel, and thousands were arrested. Iranian authorities insist the movement was not organic but engineered by adversaries seeking to destabilize the Islamic Republic.
A spokesperson accused Washington and Tel Aviv of deliberately inflaming tensions:
“These actions led to the death of innocent people and significant material losses.”
Washington Responds With Sanctions — Not Silence
In the weeks following the protests, the U.S. issued rounds of sanctions targeting Iran’s security officials and institutions involved in suppressing demonstrators. The measures continued into 2024, hitting more individuals tied to human rights abuses.
Meanwhile, according to AFP, a significant cultural shift has taken place in the streets: Iranian women increasingly ignore the mandatory hijab, openly defying the same rules that led to Amini’s arrest.
A Climate of Conflict: Protests, Sanctions, and Open Hostility
Tensions escalated even further this year after Israel launched an airstrike on Iran in June, triggering a 12-day conflict between the two enemies. The United States — long engaged in negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program — joined the fight with targeted strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Iranian officials now claim the U.S. aims to provoke civil unrest and encourage regime change:
“The American attack was meant to spark chaos and push people toward overthrowing the government,” an Iranian authority asserted.
The U.S. has not responded to the $22 billion ruling, and there is no scenario in which Washington will comply. But the decision underscores Tehran’s strategy: criminalize dissent at home while casting foreign governments as architects of every uprising.
With Iran’s streets still simmering and women openly challenging state authority, the regime’s attempt to deflect blame abroad may only deepen the divide between rulers and the ruled.