Although the American Iranian Council has for the past thirty years primarily focused its efforts on relations between the US and Iran, and not on Iranian internal affairs, from time to time the events within Iran are so extraordinary as to require extra attention. The recent period following the death of twenty-two-year-old Mahsa Amini has been such a time.

Young Iranians - women and men alike - have come out in a show of unity demanding change for their country, including the removal of restrictive dress codes for women and the "morality police" system, which led to Mahsa Amini's death. They are also demanding a broader array of changes, including better economic conditions and renewed integration with the rest of the world.

The American Iranian Council supports the Iranian people in their calls for change. We urge the Iranian government to be restrained in its use of force against protesters and to accept its peoples' legitimate demands. Meanwhile, as news of the protests spread around the world, the AIC cautions other countries against intervening in Iran's internal affairs.

- The American Iranian Council