Iran's Supreme leader Ali Khamenei, speaking for the first time since protests broke out in his country last week, accuses "enemies of Iran" of meddling in the country.At least 21 people have been killed in the protests that broke out throughout cities across the country since last Thursday, over Iran's weak economy and rising food prices.Nine of the confirmed dead were killed overnight, according to Iranian state television, which reported that six of them were protesters killed when they stormed a police station in Qahdarijan. An 11-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man were killed in the town of Khomeinishahr.As NPR's Greg Myre reported over the weekend, President Hassan Rouhani issued a televised warning to protesters that his government would show "no tolerance" for anyone who incites unrest.A member of Iran's paramilitary Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was killed in the town of Najafabad, reportedly by a hunting rifle. Such rifles are common in the Iranian countryside, according to The Associated Press, but it was not clear if the IRGC member was the same police officer reportedly shot on Monday night.Al Jazeera reports that:
Iran's Supreme Leader Blames Tehran's 'Enemies' For Inciting Protests
![Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei speaks during his meeting with students in Tehran, Iran in October. Photo by Iranian Leader's Press Office - Handout](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/c066779/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1435x1434+0+0/resize/880x879!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fimages%2Fnews%2Fnpr%2F2018%2F01%2F575041045_1442757633.jpg)