Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused demonstrators of serving foreign interests as protests continued across the country, despite a nationwide internet and phone blackout. In a televised address, Khamenei referred to U.S. leader Donald Trump, claiming protestors were
ruining their own streets to make the president of another country happy.
The 86-year-old leader warned that authorities would respond firmly, as crowds attending his broadcast chanted “Death to America.”
Protests flared in Tehran and other cities, coinciding with exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi urging Iranians to take to the streets. Before communications were cut, activists shared videos of crowds chanting anti-government slogans around bonfires.
Iranian state media later claimed “terrorist agents” linked to the United States and Israel were responsible for violence and arson, reporting unspecified casualties. Independent verification of the unrest has been hindered by the media blackout, but the demonstrations are widely seen as the most serious challenge to the government in several years.
According to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, at least 42 people have been killed and more than 2,270 detained since protests—initially driven by economic hardship following a sharp currency collapse and tightening sanctions—began in late December.
