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Donald Trump warns Ayatollah Ali Khamenei US will ‘start shooting’ if Iranian demonstrators are targeted by government forces nationwide protest demand regime change Continue until day 13.
The U.S. president and Iran’s supreme leader traded threats on Friday, as clashes between police and protesters continued across the country and all internet and phone lines were shut down.
At least 62 protesters and several police officers People have been killed in clashes since they began on December 28According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), 2,200 people have been arrested so far.
Iranians demonstrated in more than 100 towns and cities across the country in the worst protests in years. Thousands of protesters took to the streets chanting anti-regime slogans, while other videos showed cars and piles of motorcycles being set on fire.
Trump said the leader of the Islamic Republic was “looking to go somewhere” to escape, adding that Iran was “on the verge of collapse.”
He warned that the United States would crack down on the country if protesters were killed, saying he had “put Iran on notice.”
“So many people are protesting,” he said in a statement. Interview with Sean Hannity Fox News. “No one has seen anything like what’s happening now, but I’ve put Iran on notice that if they start shooting at them — these are completely unarmed people who love their country.
“They want something to happen. Look at their country. They’ve gone back 150 years. But I warned them that if they do anything bad to these people, we’re going to crack down on them. I’ve said it very loudly and very clearly, that’s what we’re going to do.”
He later warned Iran’s leaders that they “better not start shooting because we will start shooting too.”
Iran and its people were cut off from the outside world after a nationwide blackout was imposed on Thursday and Friday. Video leaked from abroad showed buildings and shops on fire and vehicles overturned. Despite a media crackdown, protests are expected to continue.
Sir Keir Starmer Urges Tehran to “exercise restraint” He condemned the killing of protesters during a crackdown on demonstrations.
In a joint statement with the leaders of France and Germany, the prime minister said he was “deeply concerned by reports of violence by Iranian security forces” and “strongly” condemned the killing of protesters.
The leaders added: “The Iranian authorities have a responsibility to protect their people and must allow freedom of expression and peaceful assembly without fear of reprisal.
“We urge the Iranian authorities to exercise restraint, avoid violence and uphold the basic rights of Iranian citizens.”
Ayatollah Khamenei Blame Mr. Trump In a public address on Friday, he accused the protesters of being “saboteurs” and “terrorist agents” working for the United States and Israel.
He said demonstrators were “destroying their own streets to please the president of another country” and that the Islamic Republic “will not tolerate mercenaries working for foreign powers.”
The Supreme Leader has served as Iran’s head of state since 1989 and is only the second person to hold the position since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that overthrew the monarchy of Reza Pahlavi and ushered in a theocratic government.
He insisted that the country would not back down, saying: “Everyone should know that the Islamic Republic seized power with the blood of hundreds of thousands of honorable people and it will not back down in the face of saboteurs.”
The protests began two weeks ago when Reza Pahlavi, the late Shah’s exiled son, told Iranians on social media: “The eyes of the world are on you. Take to the streets.”
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But the foundation for the unrest was laid in the previous months, when the economic crisis widened and inflation reached 40%.
The United Nations reimposed sanctions in September, leaving Iran in economic trouble. The country’s rial currency has plummeted – currently trading at 1.4 million to the dollar.
Protests began in December when businessmen in Tehran expressed dissatisfaction with rising costs. The country was also rocked by a 12-day conflict that erupted last June. Israelwhich witnessed the US military bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said he was deeply troubled by the violence on the streets of Iran and the resulting communications blackout.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed concerns about foreign military intervention, saying the risk of such involvement was “very low.” But after Trump’s repeated warnings and the unprecedented arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro last weekend, there are concerns that the United States could become involved.
Iran has experienced several waves of large-scale protests, including student demonstrations in 1999, an election backlash in 2009, economic turmoil in 2019, and the Women, Life, Freedom movement that erupted in 2022 after 22-year-old Mahesa Amini was killed in the custody of Iran’s morality police.
The EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Kaja Callas, warned on Friday that a violent crackdown on the protests was “unacceptable”.
“The people of Iran are fighting for their future. By ignoring their legitimate demands, the regime has revealed its true colors,” Ms. Karas wrote in a post on X/Twitter.
“Images from Tehran show a disproportionate and harsh response by security forces. Any violence against peaceful demonstrators is unacceptable. Shutting down the internet and violently suppressing protests exposes a regime that is afraid of its own people.”
But Iran’s judiciary promised that the punishment for the rioters would be “decisive and severe, and there would be no legal leniency.”