Ayatollah Ali Khamenei directly warned President Donald Trump on Friday to stay out of Iranian affairs as protests against the supreme leader’s regime sweep the nation.
“Everyone should know that the Islamic Republic came to power with the blood of hundreds of thousands of honorable people, and it will not back down in the face of saboteurs,” he said in a televised statement as Iran remains under a widespread internet blackout authorized by the regime.
Khamenei’s furious response comes one week after Trump threatened to intervene if Iran “violently kills peaceful protesters” opposing the ayatollah’s reign.
“We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post dated Jan. 2.
At least 62 protesters, including eight children, have died since the protests began late last month, the Norway-based Iran Human Rights non-governmental organization reported on Thursday.
Trump attributed a number of the deaths so far to “stampedes,” referring to protesters getting stepped on in large crowds of people. He claimed law enforcement has not been responsible for the majority of deaths, but if that changes, he promised the United States would respond with military force.
Khamenei called out Trump’s “arrogance” and suggested he will be “overthrown” because of his pride.
Earlier this week, the head of Iran’s military threatened to launch a preemptive attack against the U.S. over Trump’s renewed rhetoric.
Khamenei also accused the anti-government protesters of trying to please Trump, saying, “They want to make him happy.” He added, “If he knew how to run a country, he would run his own.”
Trump has been supportive of the Iranian people’s calls for freedom for some time.
Early Friday morning, he posted a video on Truth Social that claimed protesters had taken control of Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city and Khamenei’s hometown. While millions of people have taken to the streets there, claims that the Iranian regime lost control of Mashhad are unverified at this time.
The Iranian government cut all access to communications in Tehran and other major cities across the nation on Thursday in response to the recent protests. The demonstrations carried over into Friday.
Khamenei is reportedly planning to flee the country to Russia, but the claim is unconfirmed. In a Thursday interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump said he’s monitoring the situation “very closely,” adding he expects Khamenei to escape to “someplace” if it’s not Russia.
Despite his support for the Iranian people’s cause, Trump is not committing to meeting with Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi at this time.
TRUMP SAYS MEETING WITH IRANIAN CROWN PRINCE CALLING FOR PROTESTS WOULD NOT BE ‘APPROPRIATE’
“I’ve watched him, and he seems like a nice person, but I’m not sure that it would be appropriate at this point to do that as president,” Trump said of Pahlavi while speaking with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. “I think that we should let everybody go out there and we see who emerges. I’m not sure necessarily that it would be an appropriate thing to do.”
Because Khamenei’s clerical regime does not recognize Pahlavi as the rightful leader of Iran, a Trump-Pahlavi meeting would only further stoke tensions with the ayatollah. Pahlavi has encouraged Iranians to resist the Islamic regime by participating in mass protests and making their voices heard.
