Non-governmental organizations estimate that the number of deaths in the protests now exceeds 3,400
Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, held US President Donald Trump responsible for the fatalities of protests in several Iranian cities and promised to punish “domestic or international criminals”.
“We consider the US president a criminal for the victims, the damage and the defamation he inflicted on the Iranian people”, declared Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, quoted by the international press, in a speech to the nation.
Iran’s supreme leader describes the last few weeks of protests across the country as the result of an “American conspiracy” and that the US objective is to “devour Iran”.
In an appeal to Iranians, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei argued that the authorities “must crush the seditionists” and promised that “domestic and international criminals” will not be spared.
“We are not going to drag the country into war, but we are also not going to let internal or international criminals go unpunished”, he stressed.
The last few hours have brought some calm to Iran, after the Iranian authorities accepted Donald Trump’s threat to proceed with military intervention
Protests in Iran began on December 28, when traders in Tehran closed their businesses due to the fall of the rial, but soon spread throughout the country with chants of “Death to the Islamic Republic” and “Death to Khamenei”.
Several non-governmental organizations based in exile, such as Iran Human Rights, estimate that the number of deaths now exceeds 3,400.
