Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday labeled US President Donald Trump a 'criminal' for supporting nationwide anti-government protests, publicly admitting for the first time that "several thousand" people have died in the unrest.

In a televised address marking a religious holiday, Khamenei accused Washington of orchestrating the demonstrations as a "seditious" plot to achieve political and economic domination over Iran.

The Supreme Leader’s admission of the casualty count offers the first official indication of the scale of the crackdown that began in late December 2025.

While Khamenei blamed demonstrators—whom he called "foot soldiers" of the US—for the violence and attacks on mosques, human rights groups and monitors provide a far grimmer picture.

The Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) has verified at least 3,428 deaths, while other reports suggest the toll could be as high as 20,000 following a week-long internet blackout that masked a "massacre" by security forces.

President Trump responded sharply to the accusations, telling Politico that Khamenei is a "sick man" and calling for an end to his nearly 40-year rule.

"It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran," Trump stated, claiming the current regime has turned the country into one of the "worst places to live" through repression.

The exchange follows a briefly conciliatory moment on Friday when Trump thanked Tehran for allegedly halting the execution of 800 protesters—a claim Iranian officials dismissed as "futile and irrelevant."

As of Saturday, an uneasy calm has returned to Tehran and other major cities, supported by a heavy security presence and only a "very slight" restoration of internet connectivity.

Despite the lull in active street protests, the Iranian judiciary has warned that thousands of detainees will face swift trials as mohareb (enemies of God), a charge carrying the death penalty, ensuring that tensions remain at a breaking point.

Source: AP