WASHINGTON/TEHRAN, Jan 10: Amid escalating nationwide protests and mounting tensions with the United States, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed that the country will not “back down.”
His statement comes after US President Donald Trump has been issuing warnings on a daily basis that Washington could respond forcefully if Iranian authorities continue their crackdown on demonstrators.
The unrest in Iran, now entering its second week, is driven by public anger over economic hardship and rising living costs. Authorities have blocked internet and international phone services in an attempt to curb coordination, even as protests continue across multiple regions.
Trump has again threatened military action against Iran if the government continues its violent crackdown on nationwide protests.
Trump warned that “you better not start shooting” at demonstrators, “because we’ll start shooting, too.” He clarified there would be no US “boots on the ground,” but added, “if they start killing people like they have in the past, we’ll be hitting them very hard where it hurts.”
Trump said that the situation in Iran is being monitored very closely and hoped for the protestors in the country to be safe.
He warned that if protestors were killed, the US would get involved and would hit the country where it hurts.
He said, “Iran’s in big trouble. It looks to me that the people are taking over certain cities that nobody thought were really possible. We’re watching the situation very carefully. I made the statement very strongly that if they start killing people like they have in the past, we will get involved.”
The US President further said, “But this is something pretty incredible that is happening in Iran. It’s an amazing thing to watch. They’ve done a bad job, they have treated their people very badly and now they are being paid back, so, let’s see what happens. We are watching it very closely”.
Khamenei labeled Trump as “arrogant” and accused him of having hands “stained with the blood of” Iranians.
“Our enemies don’t know Iran. In the past, the US failed due to their flawed planning. Today too, their flawed scheming will cause them to fail,” Khamenei wrote in a post on X.
He further predicted that the US President would be “overthrown” and urged him to focus on domestic issues instead of interfering in Iran.
Khamenei also hinted at a stricter approach by security forces toward protesters, directly challenging Trump’s promise of support for peaceful demonstrations. “Today like the past, the US is wrong in its calculations about Iran.”
Ignoring Trump’s threat, Khamenei reiterated that his hands were “stained with the blood of Iranians,” as Iranian state television broadcast footage of crowds chanting “Death to America!”
“Protesters are ruining their own streets ? in order to please the president of the United States,” the 86-year-old leader said while speaking to supporters at his Tehran compound. “Because he said that he would come to their aid. He should pay attention to the state of his own country instead.”
In additional posts on X, Khamenei criticized Trump’s foreign policies, including actions in Venezuela, which he described as motivated by oil interests. “Today, the Iranian nation is even more equipped and armed than that day (before the Revolution). Both our spiritual strength and hard, conventional weapons can’t be compared to what we had before.”
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported 116 demonstrations in 22 provinces since 3:30 pm local time on January 8. Twenty of these protests involved more than 1,000 participants, signaling continued widespread mobilization despite government attempts to limit communications.
ISW noted that the actual scale of the protests is likely larger, as the internet shutdown has hindered the sharing of videos and information. Some demonstrators reportedly used satellite internet services, such as Starlink, to relay updates to international media.
The institute added that its reported numbers reflect only a partial picture of ongoing activity due to communication restrictions.
The leaders of France, the United Kingdom, and Germany condemned what they called the “killing of protesters” in Iran and called on the authorities to “exercise restraint.”
In a joint statement, French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said, “We are deeply concerned about reports of violence by Iranian security forces, and strongly condemn the killing of protestors. The Iranian authorities have the responsibility to protect their own population and must allow for the freedom of expression and peaceful assembly without fear of reprisal.”They added, “We urge the Iranian authorities to exercise restraint, to refrain from violence, and to uphold the fundamental rights of Iran’s citizens.” (UNI)
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