Tehran - (AFP) - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Thursday accused the United States , the sworn enemy of the Islamic Republic, of working to destabilize it, in light of the protests it has been witnessing for nearly a month over the death of the young woman, Mahsa Amini.

Since September 16, protests have erupted in Iran following the death of Amini, 22, three days after she was arrested by the morality police for not adhering to strict dress codes.

Dozens died on the sidelines of these protests, including members of the security forces, while the authorities announced the arrest of hundreds for their involvement in "riots".

And after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had previously accused the United States and its ally Israel of being behind the "planned" protests, Raisi considered Thursday that Washington is adopting a policy of "destabilization" towards Tehran.

"Now that the United States has failed in militarization (against Iran) and sanctions, Washington and its allies have resorted to the failed policy of destabilization," the Iranian president said, during the summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Kazakhstan.

And he believed that "the Iranian nation thwarted the American military option, and, according to what they themselves admitted, inflicted a terrible defeat on the policy of sanctions and maximum pressure."

Washington has imposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic for many years under various names, the most prominent of which is the Iranian nuclear file. The United States re-imposed harsh sanctions starting in 2018, following the decision of its former president, Donald Trump, to unilaterally withdraw his country from the nuclear agreement between Tehran and the major powers concluded in 2015.

Khamenei, who has the final say in the supreme politics of the Islamic Republic, accused the United States and Israel of involvement in the "riots".

On October 3, he said, "These riots and disturbances were planned by the United States and the usurping and fake Zionist regime, and their hirelings and some traitorous Iranians abroad helped them."

On Wednesday, Khamenei again accused the "enemy" of involvement in the protests, which are approaching the end of their first month.

He said, "The issue of the enemies' involvement in the recent riots is recognized by all," according to a statement posted on its official website.

Earlier in October, the United States announced sanctions against seven senior Iranian officials for their role in "suppressing" the protests, according to a statement from the US Treasury.

The imposition of sanctions came days after President Joe Biden pledged to continue "holding Iranian officials accountable and supporting the rights of Iranians to demonstrate freely."

The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized the US position, considering it reflects Biden's "hypocrisy" in the human rights file.