Iran’s Khamenei brands Trump a “criminal” over protest support

Khamenei brands Trump a “criminal” for backing protests

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday branded U.S. President Donald Trump a “criminal” for what Iran described as Trump’s support for protesters in Iran, according to a speech broadcast by state television.

In his comments, Khamenei said the unrest that began Dec. 28 had led to “several thousand” deaths, and he blamed protesters for the casualties. He said the protests left “several thousand” people dead, and described protesters as acting as “foot soldiers” of the United States.

Khamenei’s speech also included a direct characterization of remarks he attributed to Trump, saying the U.S. president “made remarks in person, encouraged seditious people to go ahead and said: ‘We do support you, we do support you militarily,’” as carried in the broadcast. He reiterated an accusation that the United States seeks domination over Iran’s economic and political resources.

“We do consider the U.S. president a criminal, because of casualties and damages, because of accusations against the Iranian nation,” Khamenei said. He added that “Through hurting people, they killed several thousand of them,” and said protesters destroyed “mosques and educational centers.”

Iran’s leader says rioters were armed; warns against war

Khamenei said rioters were armed with live ammunition that was imported from abroad, without naming any countries. He also said Iran does not plan to pursue war, but argued officials should still pursue cases involving offenders.

“We do not plan, we do not take the country toward war,” Khamenei said, adding that Iran would not release “domestic offenders,” and that “there are international offenders.” He added that Iran “do[es] not let them alone either,” and urged officials to pursue the cases.

Trump responds, calling Khamenei’s leadership fatalistic and abusive

Trump replied to Khamenei’s comments, telling Politico that Khamenei “should run his country properly and stop killing people.” Trump also said Khamenei’s country was “the worst place to live anywhere in the world because of poor leadership,” and added, “It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran.”

The exchange followed a day in which Trump had sounded a more conciliatory tone, according to AP, saying that “Iran canceled the hanging of over 800 people,” and adding, “I greatly respect the fact that they canceled.” AP reported Trump did not specify whom he spoke to in Iran to confirm the status of the executions.

AP also reported that Tehran Prosecutor Gen. Ali Salehi, in a statement carried by IRNA, dismissed Trump’s remarks as “futile and irrelevant,” and said Iran’s response would be “severe, preventive and fast.”

Crackdown toll disputed; internet services briefly restored

Iran has returned to what AP described as an uneasy calm after harsh repression of protests that began Dec. 28 over Iran’s economy. AP reported that the crackdown had left at least 3,308 people dead, citing the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which AP said has relied on activists inside Iran to confirm fatalities.

AP said it was unable to independently confirm the death toll.

During the protests, authorities blocked all internet access on Jan. 8. On Saturday, text messaging and very limited internet services began functioning again briefly in parts of Iran, witnesses told AP. AP reported that cellphone text messaging began operating overnight and that users were able to access local websites through a domestic internet service, with some also reporting limited international access via VPN.

Cloudflare’s monitoring service and NetBlocks reported very slight increases in connectivity Saturday morning, AP said. It also reported that Iran’s semiofficial Mehr news agency said limited internet access had returned but did not offer an explanation.

‘Uneasy calm’ after Pahlavi call; Pezeshkian blames U.S. and Israel

AP reported that reports of protests were absent in Tehran for days and that shopping and street life had returned to normal, with Iranian state media not reporting new unrest. AP said there was no indication the exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi’s call for protesters to take to the streets again from Saturday to Monday had been heeded by Saturday afternoon.

In a separate development, AP reported that Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian accused the United States and Israel of meddling in the unrest during a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.