Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei insisted that “the events that took place these past few weeks [ie, nationwide anti-government protests] were not merely street riots. They were detailed plots. The enemy initiated hybrid warfare. The enemy, namely the U.S., the Zionist regime [ie, Israel], some insidious and malicious European powers and some groups, came to the scene with all of their capabilities”. He also reiterated that Iran’s retaliation for the killing by the U.S. in 2020 of former IRGC Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani would “happen at the right time, at the right place”.