Farideh Moradkhani, niece of Iranian supreme leader, calls for cutting ties with regime

Farideh Moradkhani, niece of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has called for foreign governments to cut ties with the Iranian regime in a video statement released two days after she was arrested.

Farideh Moradkhani, a well-known rights activist who has been opposed to the Iranian regime, was arrested on Wednesday when she went to the prosecutor's office to serve a court order, according to a tweet from her brother Mahmoud Moradkhani.

In a video statement shared by her brother a day later, Farideh Moradkhani called for people around the world to call on their governments to cut ties with the Iranian regime amid protests sweeping the nation, and to ask their governments to stop any dealings with this regime. If you want to be with us, tell your governments to stop supporting this murderous and child-killing regime. She said that this regime is not loyal to any of its religious principles and is not aware of any laws or rules other than force and maintaining its power in any possible way.

She said that all of humanity is watching that Iranian people with empty hands, with exemplary courage and bravery are fighting the evil forces in this critical moment in history. The people of Iran are responsible for the burden of this heavy responsibility by paying with their lives at this point in time. Farideh Moradkhani said that Iranians were at war with governments that support the Iranian regime, and called for democratic countries to recall their representatives from Iran and expel the representatives of Iran from their own countries.

She added that it was urgent to not support the regime that killed thousands of Iranians in four days in November 2019 and the world was only watching.

Farideh and Mahmoud Moradkhani are children of Ali Tehrani, a cleric and longtime opposition figure who was married to the supreme leader's sister Badri Hosseini Khamenei. Tehrani died last month.

Human Rights Activists news agency HRANA confirmed Farideh Moradkhani's arrest on Wednesday and said she was imprisoned after an appearance at the Evin courthouse to serve her 15 year sentence. HRANA had previously reported that she was arrested by security forces in January this year and released on bail until the end of legal proceedings. Farideh Moradkhani has been arrested on previous occasions due to her civil activities, according to HRANA.

CNN can't verify when Farideh Moradkhani recorded the video statement shared by her brother on Friday, and has reached out to Mahmoud Moradkhani for clarification.

Iran's ongoing protest movement was initially sparked by the death of 22 year-old woman Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran's morality police in September.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Chief Volker Turk said that more than 150 cities and 140 universities in all 31 provinces of Iran have been taken over by the national uprising.

According to Turk, more than 14,000 people, including children, have been arrested in connection with the protests. He said that 21 of them currently face the death penalty and six have already received death sentences.

The violent reaction of Iran's security forces toward protesters has shaken diplomatic ties between Tehran and Western leaders.

Over the weekend, Khamenei praised Basij's military force for its role in the deadly crackdown on anti-regime protesters.

Khamenei, who met with Basij personnel in Tehran on Saturday, described the popular protest movement as rioters and thugs backed by foreign forces and praised innocent Basij fighters for protecting the nation.

Basij is a wing of Iran's Revolutionary Guard and has been deployed to the streets as protests have swelled.

Correction: A previous version of the story incorrectly stated that Farideh Moradkhani was arrested after the release of her video statement. This has been corrected.