A fire erupted at the notorious Evin prison in the capital of Tehran on Saturday, killing at least eight and injuring 61 others, according to the Iranian judiciary’s website. The prison holds political prisoners and foreign detainees, including several US nationals.
“The detained U.S. citizens in Iran are accounted for and they are safe,” Vedant Patel, deputy spokesperson for the US State Department, told reporters during a press briefing on Monday, reiterating calls for “the immediate release” of wrongfully detained American citizens.
Patel also added that the US will continue to work with other countries “to remind Iran of its responsibility for the safety of our detained citizens.”
The incident at Evin comes as hundreds have also been detained by Iranian authorities during the latest wave of countrywide protests over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa (Zhina) Amini while in custody of the country’s morality police.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Monday that Washington wants to demonstrate its solidarity with the protesters in Iran “who are standing up for their most basic rights their most fundamental freedoms, at extraordinary personal risk.”
Authorities have cracked down violently on protesters over the past month. On Monday, the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights reported that at least 215 people have been killed across Iran since protests began on September 16.
The protests are a reflection of the Iranian people’s frustration with their leadership, Blinken claimed, adding that attempts by Iran to put the blame on the US shows that the authorities of the country are “profoundly misreading and misunderstanding their own people.”
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Sunday criticized his US counterpart, Joe Biden, for expressing solidarity with the protesters in Iran, saying Biden’s comments have incited “chaos” and “terror” in the country.
