Iran’s Khamenei calls Trump ‘criminal’ amid deadly protests across country

Iran’s Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei lashed out at President Donald Trump on Saturday, labeling him a “prison” and accusing the US of orchestrating unrest that has erupted into the deadliest protests in a long time.

“The newest anti-Iranian incitement was completely different as a result of the US president received personally concerned,” Iranian media quoted Khamenei as saying by Reuters.

The assertion is the most recent rhetoric from the Iranian authorities blaming the US for contributing to instability in Iran, with Tehran singling out Trump as a central determine in what it calls foreign-driven unrest. The regime additionally factors fingers at Israel.

Protests have been raging in Iran since late December, initially over financial issues however shortly increasing into widespread demonstrations in opposition to the regime. The demonstrators have come beneath heavy hearth from the safety forces.

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Iran’s Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sits subsequent to the flag of the Iranian regime throughout an official speech in Tehran. (Workplace of the Supreme Chief of Iran by way of Getty Pictures)

Human rights teams say hundreds of protesters have been killed within the unrest. Experiences from a number of teams say Khamenei was liable for the crackdown that killed hundreds of protesters. US-based human rights activists in Iran estimated the loss of life toll at 3,090 on Friday.

The quantity, which is bigger than every other spherical of protest or unrest in Iran in a long time and recollects the chaos surrounding the 1979 revolution, continues to rise.

In the meantime, Iranian opposition determine Reza Pahlavi instructed Bret Baier in a particular report on Monday that at the very least 12,000 folks had been killed.

Trump has expressed assist for Iranian protesters and talked about regime change, whereas some Republican lawmakers have overtly urged Trump to think about navy motion.

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Protesters burn a poster depicting Iranian Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei throughout a rally in assist of anti-government protests in Iran, in Holon, Israel, on Wednesday, January 14, 2026. (AP Picture/Ohad Zwigenberg)

The president mentioned Tuesday he has stopped conferences with the Iranian regime, saying there can be no contact till the federal government stops killing protesters. He additionally urged the Iranian folks to “take over” the nation.

Requested whether or not Arab and Israeli officers “satisfied” him to not assault Iran, Trump instructed reporters on Friday that he had satisfied himself and cited the canceled hangings.

Trump additionally expressed comparable sentiments on social media on Friday.

“I’ve nice respect for the truth that all deliberate hangings that had been speculated to happen yesterday (greater than 800 of them) have been canceled by the Iranian management. Thanks!” Trump mentioned this in a submit on Reality Social on Friday.

It’s unclear who Trump spoke to in Iran to substantiate the standing of potential deliberate executions. The assertion displays one thing White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt instructed reporters Thursday in regards to the canceled executions. She asserted that every one choices remained on the desk in terms of coping with Iran.

Iranians collect whereas blocking a road throughout a protest in Tehran, Iran, on January 9, 2026. (MAHSA / Center East Pictures / AFP by way of Getty Pictures)

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“What I’ll say relating to Iran is that the president and his crew have communicated to the Iranian regime that if the killing continues, there will probably be critical penalties,” Leavitt instructed reporters Thursday. “And the President acquired a message when he revealed to all of you and to the whole world yesterday that the murders and executions will cease. And the President understands as we speak that 800 executions that had been deliberate and scheduled to happen yesterday have been halted.”

It’s not clear from Trump’s submit whether or not he was referring to the 800 executions that had already been canceled or whether or not there have been two consecutive days by which 800 executions have been known as off.

In the meantime, a sermon by Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, broadcast on Iran’s state radio, prompted chants from these gathered for prayer, together with: “Armed hypocrites have to be put to loss of life!”

Khatami, a member of Iran’s Meeting of Consultants and Guardian Council who has lengthy been identified for his powerful stances, described the protesters as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “butlers” and “Trump’s troopers,” the newspaper mentioned. The Associated Press.

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He mentioned Netanyahu and Trump ought to watch for “harsh revenge from the system.”

“People and Zionists shouldn’t anticipate peace,” the cleric mentioned.

Benjamin Weinthal and Diana Stancy of Fox Information Digital, in addition to Reuters and The Related Press, contributed to this report.