External Factors Involved in Iran Unrest

The head of the upper house of the Russian parliament's international affairs committee said "external factors" have been involved in the recent protests against high prices in Iran, noting that Washington will seize every opportunity to destabilize the Islamic Republic. "[The recent] wave of protests in Iran, of course, in the first place is a symptom of certain internal political processes in the country. Socio-economic factors also influence the events, but they are not the worst in the region and in comparison with previous years for Iran," Kosachev was cited by RIA Novosti as saying, Tasnim News Agency reported on Monday. He warned that Washington and Tel Aviv are stepping up their cooperation to destabilize Iran, referring to a recent deal secretly signed between the two on cooperation on countering Iran.