Revolt in Iran: Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei accuses Donald Trump of being “guilty” for the deaths of demonstrators

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei this Saturday accused Donald Trump of being “guilty” for the deaths of demonstrators. The violent repression caused at least 3,428 deaths verified by the NGO Iran Human Rights.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei asserts this Saturday that Trump is “guilty” of the deaths of demonstrators, at a time when the violent repression in Iran has left at least 3,428 dead according to the NGO Iran Human Rights – cases verified by itself or via independent sources – almost three weeks after the start of the protest movement.

“We hold the American president guilty for the victims, the damage and the accusations he made against the Iranian nation,” he told a crowd of supporters during a speech at a religious holiday.

“It was an American plot,” he said, adding that “the goal of the United States is to swallow Iran (…) the goal is to put Iran back under military, political and economic domination.”

Iran’s supreme leader also said authorities must “break the backs of the seditious.”

“All options remain on the table”

Started on December 28 in Tehran by traders against the cost of living, the demonstrations really gained momentum on January 8, openly defying the Islamic Republic established in 1979.

Authorities then shut down the Internet, a move aimed at hiding “the brutality” of the repression, according to human rights groups.

The American president has increased threats of intervention in recent weeks, before asserting on Wednesday that he had been informed “by very important sources” that “the killings have ended”.

While Vladimir Putin had not yet spoken publicly about the situation in Iran, he spoke on Friday with the Iranian president, who thanked him for Moscow’s support.

The day before, during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, Russian Ambassador Vassili Nebenzia had criticized the United States for “stoking tensions and fueling hysteria”.

The warning from the Gulf countries

The Kremlin announced that Vladimir Putin also spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The latter spoke to Donald Trump on Thursday, asking him, according to the New York Times, not to intervene militarily.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman had also warned Donald Trump of the risk of “serious repercussions for the region”, according to a senior Saudi official.

“All options remain on the table on the American side,” however, the White House specified on Thursday, adding that the American president had warned Tehran of “serious consequences” if the repression of the protest movement continued.