Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei acknowledged Saturday that “several thousands” of people have been killed amid the mass of anti-government protests, casting blame on the U.S. and critics for the casualties.
“In this revolt, the U.S. president made remarks in person, encouraged seditious people to go ahead and said: ‘We do not support you, we do not support militarily,’” Khamenei said in a speech broadcast on state television, The Associated Press reported.
“We do consider the U.S. president a criminal, because of casualties and damages, because of accusations against the Iranian nation,” he added, according to the AP.
In a series of social media posts, Khamenei further described the demonstrations as a foreign-backed plot and accused the U.S. of seeking to “ devour Iran.”
“From the beginning of the Islamic Revolution until today, the US has lost its dominance over Iran. And they want to bring Iran under their military, political & economic domination again. This isn’t [solely] related to the current US president either! Its a general US Policy,” Khamenei wrote Saturday on social platform X.
He also accused Israel of working with the U.S., claiming that actors from the two nations were responsible for “ heinous crimes,” including the vandalism of 250 mosques and over 250 educational and scientific institutions.
“They damaged the power grid, banks, and healthcare facilities,” the Iranian leader continued. “They murdered several thousand people.”
Demonstrations erupted across Iran just over two weeks ago, initially over the country’s weakening economy, but the ire has since been turned toward the regime, which in turn orchestrated a crackdown on protests.
At least 3,000 people, mostly protesters, have been killed and more than 22,000 people detained as protests stretched into their 21st day on Saturday, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activist News Agency. The death toll includes at least 19 children, 21 non-protesting civilians, and 165 in government or security forces.
The country has remained in an internet blackout, making it difficult to obtain independent information from inside the country. However, reports indicate that street protests have largely calmed as the autocratic regime vowed to continue quashing demonstrations.
Trump has held off on immediate action against Tehran, but is not ruling out possible intervention, repeatedly warning the regime to stop its lethal repression.
The president said earlier this week that he had “on good authority” the killings would stop and thanked the Iranian government on Friday for allegedly not following through on executions.
“I greatly respect the fact that all scheduled hangings, which were to take place yesterday (Over 800 of them), have been cancelled by the leadership of Iran. Thank you!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
A day earlier, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told members of the U.N. Security Council that “all options are on the table to stop the slaughter” during an emergency meeting.
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are divided over whether the U.S. should intervene and, if so, how, with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) urging the Trump administration to use “any means necessary” to punish the Iranian authorities.
Democrats in the upper chamber, however, have warned that military strikes could potentially backfire and sway public support toward the regime.
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