Iran president takes aim at Biden pledge to 'free' Iran

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi ridiculed a vow by US President Joe Biden to "free" Iran, as weeks of protests in the Islamic republic show little sign of abating.

Campaigning for mid-term elections in the US, Biden had said: "Don't worry, we're gonna free Iran. They're gonna free themselves pretty soon."

Iran has for more than six weeks been gripped by protests sparked by the death last month of Mahsa Amini after her arrest by the morality police for a breach of the country's strict dress code for women.

Addressing a gathering commemorating the November 1979 takeover of the US embassy in Tehran by students, Raisi said: "the US says it wants to free Iran, but I must tell you that Iran liberated itself 43 years ago and will no longer submit to you."

"The great people of Iran will not bow their heads to you," he told thousands of people who shouted "Death to America, death to Israel, death to Great Britain."

Protesters carried placards pledging loyalty to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and also held pictures of him aloft, along with images of the Islamic republic's founder Ruhollah Khomeini.

Dozens have been killed, mainly protesters but also members of the security forces, according to the authorities, while hundreds of others -- including women -- have been arrested.

"The enemy is today targeting our solidarity and national unity, our security, our peace and our determination," Raisi said.