Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, reacted to explicit threats from US President Donald Trump, who signaled that he could carry out a new intervention in the country to protect citizens who have organized protests against the Islamic regime in recent days.
Speaking to Iranian state media, Khamenei said the White House leader should focus on governing his own country, “if he is capable of doing so.” Thousands of people gathered on the streets of Iran and suffered a strong response from the regime – data from the NGO Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) shows at least 45 deaths of protesters, including eight children.
“US President Trump should focus on governing his own country if he is able; the US faces numerous internal problems,” Khamenei said in his message, broadcast on local television station PressTV.
He added that “Trump’s hands are stained with the blood of more than 1,000 Iranians who died in June’s Israeli-American aggression” and urged young people to preserve national unity, emphasizing that “a united nation can defeat any enemy.”
Iran’s supreme religious leader has referred to the citizens currently demonstrating on the country’s streets as “vandals who destroy national property and bow down to the US president.”
Khamenei stated that “Iran will not give in to those who commit acts of vandalism” nor will it “tolerate those who act as mercenaries for foreigners.”
Ali Khamenei’s message comes on the thirteenth day of protests across the country, initially triggered by traders and economic sectors affected by the deteriorating economic situation, the collapse of the official currency, the Rial, and galloping inflation.
Iran is going through a deep economic crisis, with annual inflation above 42% and inflation in December above 52%, worsened by sanctions imposed by the US due to its nuclear program.
