Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, admitted that thousands have been killed during the protests in his country. However, Khamenei blamed these killings on U.S. President Donald Trump and the protesters allegedly working on his behalf.
“In this revolt, the U.S. president made remarks in person, encouraged seditious people to go ahead and said: ‘We do support you, we do support you militarily,'” Khamenei said on Saturday, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“We do consider the U.S. president a criminal, because of casualties and damages, because of accusations against the Iranian nation,” he added.
Khamenei went on to describe the protesters in Iran as “foot soldiers” for the United States and blamed them for destroying mosques and schools, as well as for killing innocent Iranians.
“Through hurting people, they killed several thousand of them,” he reiterated. “Some were killed with a force that was inhuman … completely savagely. These actions were part of the sedition’s pre-prepared blueprint.”
‘We consider US Prez GUILTY’
‘Because of casualties, damages and SLANDER he leveled against the Iranian nation’
Supreme Leader Khamenei’s words met with CHANTS of approval https://t.co/Q0L7M1NAPi pic.twitter.com/h6AfBOwR7W
— RT (@RT_com) January 17, 2026
According to CNN, Khamenei also said that there were two types of “rioters”– those who have been directly funded/trained by the United States and Israel, and young people who’ve fallen for the hype.
The latter group, Khamenei insisted, were just “naïve individuals whom the ringleaders manipulated.”
He accused these young protesters and rioters of damaging power facilities, mosques, schools, banks, grocery stores, and hospitals.
“The US must be held accountable,” he said.
Khamenei also took his complaints and allegations to social media:
The recent sedition was orchestrated by the US. The US did the planning and took action. The US’s goal is to devour Iran.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) January 17, 2026
The US President sent a message to the seditionists saying he would support them and provide military support. In other words, the US President himself was involved in the sedition. These are criminal acts.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) January 17, 2026
Agents of the US and the Zionist regime committed heinous crimes in this sedition. They vandalized 250 mosques and over 250 educational & scientific centers. They damaged the power grid, banks, and healthcare facilities. They murdered several thousand people.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) January 17, 2026
The agents involved in the sedition murdered a number of innocent civilians, including a three-year-old girl. The agents were armed and had both firearms and other weapons. These weapons were given to them from abroad.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) January 17, 2026
President Trump responded shortly thereafter by ripping Khamenei a new one.
“What he is guilty of, as the leader of a country, is the complete destruction of the country and the use of violence at levels never seen before,” Trump told Politico, referencing Khamenei.
“In order to keep the country functioning — even though that function is a very low level — the leadership should focus on running his country properly, like I do with the United States, and not killing people by the thousands in order to keep control. Leadership is about respect, not fear and death,” he added.
Trump concluded by calling for new leadership in Iran.
“The man is a sick man who should run his country properly and stop killing people,” the president said. “His country is the worst place to live anywhere in the world because of poor leadership. It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran.”
A day later, on Sunday, an Iranian official confirmed to Reuters that at least 5,000 people had been killed during the protests, though, like Khamenei, the official also blamed “terrorists and armed rioters” instead of the Iranian regime itself.
Speaking of the Iranian regime, Al Jazeera reported that Iranian authorities have been demanding money “from the families of protesters killed by security forces in order to allow their burial.”
They have also been demanding “that families sign documents saying they were members of the Basij paramilitary force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and not [mere] protesters.”
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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