President Raisi says Iran thwarted U.S. destabilisation

FILE PHOTO: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi attends a photo op session before an extended-format meeting of heads of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states at a summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan September 16, 2022. Sputnik/Sergey Bobylev/Pool via REUTERS

DUBAI (Reuters) - President Ebrahim Raisi said Iran's cities were "safe and sound" after what he called a failed attempt by the United States to repeat the 2011 Arab uprisings in the Islamic Republic, Iranian media reported on Saturday as protests continued for a 50th day.

Iran's clerical leadership has struggled to suppress demonstrations which erupted in September after the death of young Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini who had been detained by morality police for flouting strict laws on women's dress.