Khamenei accuses Trump of inciting deadly Iran protests

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed President Donald Trump for weeks of demonstrations that human rights groups say have led to more than 3,000 deaths.

“We consider the US president guilty of the losses, damages and slander he inflicted on the Iranian nation,” Khamenei said, according to Iranian state media.

The protests broke out on December 28 over economic difficulties and grew into widespread demonstrations calling for an end to religious rule in the Islamic Republic.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene, including threatening “very strong action” if Iran executes protesters.

But in a post on social media on Friday, he thanked Tehran’s leaders and said they had canceled mass executions. Iran said it had “no plans to hang people.”

In comments that appeared to be responding to Trump, Khamenei said, according to state media reports: “We will not drag the country into war, but we will not allow domestic or international criminals to go unpunished.”

Khamenei, Iran’s ultimate authority, said “several thousand deaths” occurred during the nationwide protests, Iran’s worst unrest in years. He accused the United States and Israel, Iran’s long-time enemies, of orchestrating the violence.

“Those linked to Israel and the US caused massive damage and killed several thousand,” he said, adding ‌that they started fires, destroyed public property and hurt chaos.

“They committed crimes and grave slanders,” he said.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it had confirmed the deaths of 3090 people, including 2885 protesters, and the arrest of more than 22,000 people.

Last week, Iran’s attorney general said the detainees would face harsh penalties. He said those arrested included people who “aided insurgents and terrorists attacking security forces and public property” and “mercenaries who were armed and spread fear among citizens.”

“All perpetrators are mohareb,” state media quoted Mohammad Movahedi Azad as saying, adding that investigations would be conducted “without tolerance, mercy and tolerance.”

Mohareb, an Islamic legal term meaning waging war against Allah, is punishable by death under Iranian law.

Reuters could not independently verify the death toll or details of the disturbances reported by Iranian media and rights groups.

Getting information has become complicated due to internet blackouts, which were partially lifted on Saturday.

Iran’s crackdown appears to have largely suppressed the protests, according to residents and state media, and the semi-official Mehr News Agency reported on Saturday that internet service had been restored for some users.

ISNA news site said the SMS service has also been reactivated.

“Measurements show a very slight increase in internet connectivity in Iran this morning,” internet monitoring group NetBlocks said after the 200-hour shutdown of X. He said connectivity remained around two percent of normal levels.

State media reported that thousands of “rebels and terrorists” had been arrested across the country, including individuals linked to opposition groups abroad advocating the overthrow of the Islamic Republic.

The arrests included several people described in Iranian state media as “ringleaders”, including a woman named Nazanin Baradaran, who was detained following “complex intelligence operations”.

Reports said Baradaran was operating under the alias Raha Parham on behalf of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the last shah of Iran, and played a leading role in organizing the unrest. Reuters was unable to confirm the report or the woman’s identity.

Pahlavi, a longtime opposition figure, has positioned himself as a potential leader if the regime collapses and has said he would seek to restore diplomatic ties between Iran and Israel if he assumes a leadership role in the country.

Israeli officials declared their support for Pahlavi. In a rare public statement this month, Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu said in an interview with Israel Army Radio that Israel has agents “on the ground” in Iran.

He said they aimed to weaken Iran’s capabilities but denied working directly to overthrow the leadership.