Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Protests Are Happening to ‘Please’ Trump

After days of fierce protest in cities around Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed the demonstrations as vandalism and wanton destruction.A picture made available by the office of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday. Credit...Office Of The Iranian Supreme Leader, via ReutersJan. 9, 2026, 5:27 a.m. ETIran’s supreme leader lashed out on Friday at protesters who have spilled into streets around the country in recent days, calling them vandals and accusing them of trying to “please” President Trump.“There are people whose job is only about destruction,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, said in a televised speech to supporters in Tehran, the capital.On Thursday, Iran was plunged into an internet blackout as demonstrations demanding the ouster of the government spread and grew in size. The protests have turned deadly, with varying figures cited about the number of people killed since they began late December. . “Last night in Tehran and in some other places, a group of vandals came and damaged buildings belonging to their own country just to please the president of the United States,” Mr. Khamenei said.Mr. Trump said last week that the United States would come to the aid of protesters in Iran if the government used lethal force against the demonstrations. The initial demonstrations were led by merchants protesting the plummeting value of the Iranian rial, but they have since spread to cities across the country amid broader anger against Iran’s theocratic government.On Thursday, Amnesty International, a rights group, said at least 28 protesters and bystanders, including children, had been killed between Dec. 31 and Jan. 3. Three other groups that document and track human rights — HRANA, based in Washington, Iran-human-rights" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="9079" data-entity-type="organization">Iran Human Rights based in Norway and the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights — put the overall toll higher, at more than 40.“He wants to side with the rioters and harmful individuals,” Mr. Khamenei said of Mr. Trump. “If he can, he should go and run his own country.”A crowd of supporters chanted “Death to America” during the speech.Aurelien Breeden is a reporter for The Times in Paris, covering news from France.SKIP