Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamene,i on Saturday vowed a harsh crackdown on weeks of anti-government protests, accusing the United States and President Donald Trump of responsibility for the casualties linked to the unrest.
Speaking to supporters during an address marking a religious holiday, Khamenei said authorities “must break the back of the seditionists,” warning that neither “domestic” nor “international criminals” would be spared punishment. While insisting that Iran does not seek war, he said the government would not tolerate threats to internal order.
Khamenei rejected claims that the demonstrations were spontaneous, describing them instead as the result of foreign interference. “This was an American conspiracy,” he said, accusing Washington of seeking to place Iran under military, political, and economic domination.
He also lashed out at Trump, accusing him of being “guilty for the casualties, damages and accusations” stemming from the protest wave, after the U.S. president warned of consequences if demonstrators were killed.
Iran has been rocked by weeks of demonstrations sparked by economic hardship, marking the largest protests against the Islamic Republic in more than three years.
