Protests Continue in Iran. Ayatollah Khamenei Accuses Protesters of Trying to "Please Trump"

On the evening of January 9, mass protests took place in Tehran, as well as in other cities across Iran. Video recordings confirmed by AFP show protesters in the Saadatabad area banging pots and shouting slogans such as "Death to Khamenei," directed at the country's supreme leader. According to Deutsche Welle, authorities are tightening control on the streets of the capital, setting up checkpoints every 10 meters on major highways, where armed security forces are on duty. Meanwhile, Tehran's mayor, Alireza Zakani, reported significant damage from the protests, which resulted in more than 50 banks and several government institutions being set on fire, as well as over 30 mosques being destroyed.

According to the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), hospitals in Tehran, Mashhad, and Karaj are overwhelmed with the injured. Human rights agency HRANA reports that at least 62 people have died during the protests, including 14 security personnel and 48 protesters, while 2,300 participants have been detained.

In his televised address, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stated that the protesters are merely trying to please Donald Trump, the President of the United States. He noted that "a group of vandals from Tehran and other places" is destroying their country by setting fire to trash bins to please the American leader.

“The Islamic Republic was established through the blood of many noble people, and it will not succumb to those who reject it,” Khamenei added.

Iran's ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeed Iravani, also accused the US and Israel of destabilizing the situation, turning peaceful protests into acts of violence, as reported by Reuters.

Meanwhile, Trump, in his recent statements, threatened strong actions against Iranian authorities if they begin to use violence against protesters. “If they start killing people, as often happens, we will strike them hard,” he said in a radio interview.

Over the weekend, Trump had already expressed his willingness to support Iranian protesters if the authorities begin to crack down on them. Reza Pahlavi, the son of the overthrown Shah of Iran in 1979, called on President Trump to intervene and support the protesters, writing on social media platform X: “Mr. President, I urge you to pay attention to what is happening and take action.” He also added that people are ready to take to the streets and fight for freedom.

Protests in Iran began on December 28 at the main bazaar in Tehran and have now entered their 13th day. Initially, shop owners and students dissatisfied with the devaluation of the national currency and rising prices joined in. Shortly after the protests began, the head of the Central Bank of Iran, Mohammad Farzin, resigned, and economic demands evolved into political slogans.

The last protests of such magnitude occurred three years ago after the death of Mahsa Amini, which sparked the largest unrest since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.