US President Donald Trump recently took shots at Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after he later called him a “criminal” and accused him of murdering thousands of protesters in Tehran. In response to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s recent remarks, he called the 86-year-old a “sick man” and a failed ruler.
Trump claimed Iran’s leadership was relying on repression as he made calls for new leadership in the Middle Eastern country. In a sign of a sharp escalation in the war of words between the two nations, Trump told Politico: “It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran” as he called for an end to the 37-year rule of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Read also | Why Trump threatened to sue Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan over debanking
Claiming that leadership is about respect, not fear and death, Trump said: “As the leader of the country, he is guilty of completely destroying the country and using violence on levels that have never been seen before,” the report said. He added: “In order to keep the country functioning – even if that function is at a very low level – the leadership should focus on running their country properly, as I do with the United States, and not kill people by the thousands to maintain control.
It follows a statement from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday, in which he blamed Trump for weeks of demonstrations that reportedly led to more than 3,000 deaths.
According to Iranian state media, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said: “We consider the American president a criminal for the victims, damages and slander he has caused to the Iranian nation.”
Read also | Khamenei blames “criminal” Trump for loss and damage during protests in Iran
Claiming that leadership is about respect, not fear and death, Trump said: “As the leader of the country, he is guilty of completely destroying the country and using violence on levels that have never been seen before,” the report said. He added: “In order to keep the country functioning – even if that function is at a very low level – the leadership should focus on running their country properly, as I do with the United States, and not kill people by the thousands to maintain control.
It follows a statement from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday, in which he blamed Trump for weeks of demonstrations that reportedly led to more than 3,000 deaths.
According to Iranian state media, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said: “We consider the American president a criminal for the victims, damages and slander he has caused to the Iranian nation.”
Iran’s internal situation became destabilized after agitators took to the streets on December 28 to protest economic difficulties. Accusing the US president of inciting the deadly protests, Khamenei said: “We will not drag the country into war, but we will not let domestic or international criminals go unpunished,” state media reported. Khamenei said internal criminals are worse than international criminals as he warned of tough action.
Trump has repeatedly threatened military intervention and warned of “very strong action” if Iran executes protesters. On January 13, Trump said “help is on the way” as he called on Iranians to continue their protests and “take over the institutions”.
But his statement abruptly reversed course on Friday as Iran’s unrest stabilized. Trump expressed gratitude to Iran’s leaders for calling off the mass hangings, but the government led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected such claims, saying “there is no plan to hang people,” Reuters reported.
On the scale of a possible US military operation in Iran, Trump said on Saturday: “The best decision he ever made was not to hang more than 800 people two days ago.” The nationwide protests that have rocked Iran over the past three weeks have been the country’s worst unrest in years.
Read also | Trump Wants States to Pay $1 Billion for Permanent Gaza Peace Council Seats?
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed Iran’s long-time enemies the US and Israel for orchestrating the fatal violence, saying: “Those linked to Israel and the US have caused enormous damage and killed several thousand people. He stressed that US and Israeli agents operating in Iran, who started fires, destroyed public property and incited chaos, had “committed crimes and gross slander”.
Khamenei blamed Trump for the deadly violence and unrest in Iran, saying in a post on X: “We find the US president guilty for the casualties, damage and slander he has caused to the Iranian nation.”