US President Donald Trump called for an end to the 37-year rule of Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei on Saturday – calling him a “sick man” who had destroyed the country. The remarks came hours after the Supreme Leader Khamenei held the POTUS responsible for inciting deadly protests. Rights groups say the multi-week agitation has led to more than 3,000 deaths.
“It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran. The best decision he ever made was not hanging more than 800 people two days ago,” he told Politico on Saturday, after weeks of protests shook the country.
Trump said Iran’s leaders rely on violence and repression to control the country. He blamed Khamenei for “complete destruction of the country” and for using extreme levels of violence.
Trump said that under Iran’s leadership, it is the “worst place to live anywhere. “In order to keep the country functioning – even though that function is at a very low level – the leadership should focus on running his country properly, like I do with the United States, and not killing people by the thousands in order to keep control,” Trump said.
Calling Khamenei a “sick man,” Trump said “Leadership is about respect, not fear and death.”
Khamenei blames Trump for ‘casualties’ during Iran protest
Trump’s comments come soon after Khamenei promised to “break the back of the seditionists” involved in the protests. He also blamed Trump for “casualties” during the anti-government demonstrations in Iran.
“We do not intend to lead the country to war, but we will not spare domestic criminals,” Khamenei told supporters during a speech on a religious holiday. He added that “international criminals” would also face punishment.
Iranian authorities have called the protests “terrorist” operations and “riots,” claiming it was an “American conspiracy” to control Iran militarily, politically and economically.
According to data from groups like the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) and Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO), the death toll has exceeded 3,000 individuals, including hundreds of women and dozens of children, making it the deadliest unrest since the 1979 Revolution.
Trump warned of US intervention
Trump had warned that the US would intervene militarily if Iran killed protesters. He also encouraged demonstrators to take over state institutions by saying, “help is on the way.” But this did not happen, and security forces killed at least 3,428 protesters in the meantime.
Exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi also urged Iranians to “raise your voices in anger and protest with our national slogans.” Many protesters have chanted Pahlavi’s name; his pro-Western father fled Iran during the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Pahlavi, trying to appeal to Trump, called on him not to be like his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama, who negotiated with Tehran. “I believe that President Trump is a man of his word and ultimately he will stand with the Iranian people as he has said,” Pahlavi said when asked if Trump had given false hope.
He told reporters he wants to lead a transition to a secular democracy, with a popular vote to decide the next government, and said, “I will return to Iran.”