Protests in Iran appear to have slowed as Khamenei claims Trump ‘personally encouraged’ unrest

The massive protests that have rocked Iran for more than two weeks appear to have slowed significantly, with President Donald Trump partially backing off his threats to intervene and end the widespread killings and executions of protesters.

“I greatly respect the fact that all of the hangings planned yesterday (over 800 of them) have been canceled by the Iranian leadership. Thank you!” Trump posted on Truth Social on Friday, in an abrupt change in tone from threats of possible military action days earlier.

On Tuesday, Trump called on Iranians to continue protesting and “take control of institutions,” saying “help is on the way.”

Iran’s judiciary said Thursday that a man who feared execution for the first time would not face the death penalty, but the White House did not provide a source to support the claim that 800 people were spared.

Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency said Saturday that unrest in the streets had largely calmed, while Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the main agitators had been arrested.

In a public speech, Khamenei denounced Trump’s previous remarks regarding the protests. “The president of the United States himself encouraged the agitators,” he said.

“We consider the American president a criminal, both because of the human losses, the damage and the slander directed against the Iranian nation,” he added.

Khamenei said “the Iranian nation has defeated America” ​​and that security forces have arrested the main leaders behind the unrest, adding: “We do not intend to take the country to war, but we will not let domestic criminals go.” [unpunished].”

The leader also acknowledged for the first time that “thousands” of people had died in the unrest. Earlier, Iranian officials said hundreds of people had been killed.

“It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran,” Trump told Politico on Saturday, after learning of Khamenei’s remarks.

“He is a sick man who should lead his country properly and stop killing people,” he said. “His country is the worst place to live in the world due to poor leadership. »

The brutal crackdown has left at least 3,090 people dead, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, a U.S.-based Iranian activist group that relies on its supporters in Iran to track protests and monitor deaths. The organization also reported 22,123 arrests.

“The Iranian regime has a bloody record, but as the toll grows, there may well be no precedent for the speed and ferocity with which it has acted this time,” Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group, said in a text message responding to questions from NBC News.

The vast majority of killings took place after the Internet shutdown on January 8, human rights activists and observers say. It has yet to be restored, according to internet monitoring group NetBlocks, leaving most Iranians cut off from the outside world.

Text message services on cell phones, which had also been cut, have been at least partially restored, the Fars news agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported Friday.

The protests were sparked by economic demands as the rial currency collapsed and inflation soared, turning into one of the biggest challenges the Islamic Republic has faced in the theocracy’s 47-year history, as thousands took to the streets to demand an end to the ruling clergy.

Although the judiciary appears to have backed away from executions, Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, a radical cleric, demanded the execution of protesters during a fiery Friday prayer sermon in Tehran.

“These terrorists must be hanged at the very scene of their crimes,” he said, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

A U.S. official told NBC News on Wednesday that the Defense Department was preparing to send additional U.S. forces and assets to the Middle East, as the United States began evacuating key personnel from its largest military base in the region in anticipation of a possible strike.

The international community must act “to end the massacres of protesters in Iran,” Amnesty International said Friday in an article on X, calling for the convening of special sessions of the Human Rights Council and the UN Security Council to prevent violence.

For now, it appears the killings have deterred protesters, but the regime will likely face unrest in the future because it has not addressed the root causes of the grievances, including economic gloom, water shortages, power cuts and restrictions on social freedoms, analysts say.

“They have already won the battle against their people, but I think ultimately they are going to lose the war,” Sina Azodi, director of the Middle East studies program at George Washington University, said in a telephone interview.

Khamenei acknowledged on Saturday that “the economic situation is not good and people’s livelihoods are really facing difficulties,” adding: “Government officials must work twice as hard as usual and act with more seriousness and determination.” »