KhamenEi attacks Trump as US seeks to calm allies
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday accused US President Donald Trump of being a “criminal” for backing anti-government protesters, as he for the first time acknowledged that the recent unrest had left “several thousand” people dead.
In a speech broadcast on state television, Khamenei blamed demonstrators for the bloodshed, calling them “foot soldiers” of the US who had attacked mosques and public institutions. He alleged the unrest was fuelled from abroad, claiming rioters were armed with weapons imported from outside Iran, without naming countries. Iranian officials have repeatedly accused the US and Israel of fomenting the protests.The demonstrations began on December 28 over Iran’s worsening economy and spread nationwide, prompting a harsh crackdown. A US-based human rights group has put the death toll at at least 3,090, though the figure has not been independently verified. Tehran has since returned to an uneasy calm, with no fresh protests reported for days and daily life resuming in the capital.
Khamenei’s remarks came amid heightened tensions with Washington. Trump had earlier urged Iranian protesters to persist, warning Tehran of consequences if executions were carried out, but struck a more conciliatory note on Friday, praising Iran for allegedly cancelling planned hangings. The White House has not clarified the basis of Trump’s claim.As Iran grappled with unrest and a sweeping internet shutdown that left citizens largely cut off from the outside world, limited connectivity began returning on Saturday, with text messaging and partial internet access restored in some areas. The turmoil prompted several countries to urge their nationals to leave Iran.
In New Delhi, emotional scenes unfolded at the Indira Gandhi International Airport as Indian students and other nationals arrived home on commercial flights. Families spoke of days of anxiety during the communications blackout and relief once contact was restored and the Indian Embassy in Tehran began coordinating assistance. India has advised its roughly 9,000 nationals in Iran, most of them students, to leave using available means and avoid travel to the country until the situation stabilises.
Meanwhile, Trump’s confrontational foreign policy rhetoric reverberated elsewhere. A bipartisan US Congressional delegation visiting Copenhagen sought to reassure Denmark and Greenland after Trump threatened tariffs or other measures if allies did not support US control of Greenland, a semiautonomous Danish territory. Senator Chris Coons said there were “no current security threats” to Greenland and warned that pressuring close allies risked undermining US credibility within NATO.
As Iran counts the cost of its deadliest unrest in decades, the crisis continues to ripple beyond its borders, straining diplomacy, displacing citizens and sharpening global scrutiny of Tehran’s crackdown.
