Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has told United States President Donald Trump to ‘focus on the problems of his own country’ as anti-government protests spread across the country.
In his first public response since demonstrations erupted nationwide, Khamenei accused foreign powers of exploiting the crisis and warned that Iran would not bow to pressure.
“There are some agitators who want to please the American president by destroying public property,” Khamenei said in a televised address on Friday.
“A united Iranian people will defeat all enemies. I urgently call on Trump to focus on the problems of his own country,” he added.
His remarks came hours after Trump repeated a warning that the United States would consider military action against Iran if security forces kill protesters.
The demonstrations, driven largely by worsening economic conditions and anger over government policies, have expanded from the capital, Tehran, to several major cities including Mashhad, Kermanshah, Mazandaran and Golestan provinces.
According to CNN, authorities have responded by cutting internet access and telephone lines in many areas.
Footage circulating online, verified by CNN, shows protesters blocking roads, setting fires and chanting slogans both for and against the government.
In Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city and the hometown of Khamenei, protesters were seen tearing down an Iranian flag, while crowds in Mazandaran called for the removal of the supreme leader.
The Norway-based Iran Human Rights NGO reported that at least 45 protesters, including eight children, have been killed since the unrest began, adding that Hundreds more were injured, and over 2,000 people have reportedly been detained.
Iranian state-affiliated media, however, say nearly 1,000 police officers and paramilitary personnel have been wounded, with at least five members of the security forces killed, including two from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Amid the turmoil, Trump posted a video on social media making an unverified claim that protesters had taken control of Iran’s second-largest city and that millions had poured onto the streets. Trump has continued to speak out against Iran’s leadership, heightening already tense relations between the two countries.
The current wave of protests is being described as Iran’s largest since the deadly demonstrations of 2022, which followed the death of Mahsa Amini while in police custody.
This time, the unrest was sparked by economic grievances after shopkeepers in Iran’s Grand Bazaar protested government policies and currency decisions that caused price increases. The move was significant, as the bazaaris are traditionally seen as loyal to the Islamic Republic.
Although the government attempted to ease pressure by offering the people some relief funds, the measures failed to calm public anger.
