RUSSIA SAYS U.S. CAN'T CRITICIZE IRAN BECAUSE IT CRUSHED OCCUPY WALL STREET AND FERGUSON

Russia has hit out at the U.S. over its stance on the deadly protests in Iran—comparing the Iranian response to the demonstrations to the American authorities' reaction to Occupy Wall Street and the Ferguson riots.

The Russian government has repeatedly tried to play down the unrest in Iran and issued its latest rebuke after Washington’s top envoy to the U.N. praised the demonstrations as a cry “for freedom” and vowed to raise the issue at the Security Council.

U.S. representative to the U.N. Nikki Haley called on “all freedom-loving people” to “not be silent” and encourage the anti-government protests in Iran, leading to an angry reaction in Moscow.“There is no doubt that the U.S. delegation (to the U.N.) has something to tell the world,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova wrote on Facebook.

“For example, Nikki Haley can share America’s experience in breaking up protests, going into detail about how, say, the mass arrests and the stifling of the Occupy Wall Street movement happened or how Ferguson was ‘quelled’,” she added.

The Feguson riots erupted in Missouri after the police shooting of unarmed African American teenager, Michael Brown in 2014, while the 2011 Occupy Wall Street protests took aim at income inequality. Both U.S. protests were among the most serious in recent history, leading to clashes with police and arrests.

At least 22 people have been reported dead in Iran since they began last week and at least 450 people have been arrested in the capital, Tehran, alone.

Protesters claim authorities have fired tear gas, while the Iranian government has also issued blackouts of social media networks used by protest organizers, including Telegram and Instagram, as a temporary move to stifle the surge.   

Zakharova’s comments have been shared on social media by Moscow’s delegation in the U.N., as the Russian government continues to voice disapproval at the notion that the tide of protests show a push for change in Tehran. Iran is one of Russia’s closest partners in the Middle East, joining forces in 2015 to restore mutual ally Bashar al-Assad’s once ailing control over Syria.

Both militaries have boasted that their ability to bring back control of Syrian lands from both anti-government militants and the Islamic State militant group (ISIS), was a more effective intervention than the U.S.-lead coalition.

While Moscow has not entirely backed Iran’s accusation that the nationwide protests are organized by Tehran's "enemies", Russian officials have derided any modicum of backing for the demonstrations. Moscow posted a statement earlier this week warning the U.S. that interference in the unrest was "inadmissible."

“Haley, once involved in ‘peace and security’ in Syria, is now concerned about the ‘peace, security and freedom’ in Iran,” Russian Senator Alexey Pushkov, a frequent anti-Western firebrand, wrote on Twitter. “In other words—about regime change.”

The U.S. Department of State has issued messages of support for the protesters on social media, via its Farsi-language account. Haley has herself dismissed any suggestion that the anti-government protests that snowballed from ones about high prices and corruption, are part of a U.S. plan.

Pro-government demonstrators wave their national flag during a march in Iran’s holy city of Qom, some 130 kilometers south of Tehran, on January 3. Tens of thousands gathered across Iran in a massive show of strength for the Islamic rulers after days of deadly unrest.

"This is the precise picture of a long oppressed people rising up against their dictators,” Haley said on Tuesday, CNN reports. "If the Iranian dictatorships history is any guide, we can expect more outrageous abuses in the days to come. The U.N. must speak out."