Iran’s Khamenei says Trump is “responsible for the casualties” in anti-government protests

Iran’s Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed President Trump for the deaths and accidents of protestors throughout latest demonstrations that shook the Center Jap nation. 

“We maintain the American president responsible for the casualties, damages and accusations he has levelled in opposition to the Iranian nation,” he mentioned, in line with the Agence France-Presse information company. Khamenei was talking to a crowd of supporters throughout an deal with marking a non secular vacation.

Khamenei additionally described the protests as an “American conspiracy” and accused the US of attempting to “put Iran again underneath navy, political and financial domination.” He additionally referred to as Mr. Trump a “prison,” Reuters mentioned. 

“The most recent anti-Iran ‍sedition was completely different in that the U.S. president ⁠personally turned concerned,” Khamenei mentioned, in line with Reuters. 

The protests started as demonstrations in opposition to financial hardship and snowballed shortly into nationwide protests in opposition to the Islamic Republic’s management. 

The demonstrations raged for greater than two weeks earlier than authorities started a brutal crackdown. Iran’s Web was shut down late final week, and data from throughout the nation remains to be laborious to come back by. Two sources contained in the Islamic Republic, together with one inside Iran who was in a position to name in a foreign country on Tuesday, informed CBS Information that at the very least 12,000 and probably as many as 20,000 persons are feared to have been killed. 1000’s of others had been arrested and are actually dealing with attainable demise sentences for collaborating within the demonstrations. 

Mr. Trump informed “CBS Night Information” anchor Tony Dokoupil on Tuesday that there can be “very robust actions” in opposition to the Iranian regime if it hanged accused protestors. He mentioned within the Oval Workplace on Wednesday that “we’ve got been informed that the killing in Iran is stopping, it has stopped, it is stopping.” 

“They’ve mentioned the killing has stopped and the executions will not happen,” he mentioned, citing “crucial sources on the opposite aspect” however not giving any specs. “There have been speculated to be numerous executions at this time and that the executions will not happen. And we will discover out.”

On Friday, Mr. Trump even took the bizarre step on Friday of thanking the Iranian authorities for not following by on executions of what he mentioned had been meant to be lots of of political prisoners.

“Iran canceled the hanging of over 800 individuals,” he informed reporters whereas leaving the White Home to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Seaside, Florida, including that he “drastically revered” the transfer.

Mr. Trump repeatedly expressed his assist for the protestors and informed Iranians that “assistance is on its means.” The Trump administration says the president has a vary of choices at his disposal, from standard navy strikes to cyber warfare.