Khamenei blames US, Israel for thousands of Iranian deaths

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday accused the United States and Israel of killing “several thousand” Iranians during the protests that have swept the Islamic Republic since Dec. 28.

“Agents of the U.S. and the Zionist regime committed heinous crimes in this sedition. They vandalized 250 mosques and over 250 educational and scientific centers. They damaged the power grid, banks and healthcare facilities. They murdered several thousand people,” he tweeted.

Earlier on Saturday, Khamenei made his first public appearance since the demonstrations broke out.

“We consider the U.S. president a criminal for the casualties, damages, and the slander he inflicted on the Iranian nation,” the 86-year-old said in a speech broadcast on national television from Tehran, during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Mab’ath, according to Reuters.

In a separate X post, Khamenei blamed Trump for encouraging the protesters. “The U.S. President sent a message to the seditionists saying he would support them and provide military support. In other words, the U.S. President himself was involved in the sedition,” his X account stated.

“Iranian Patriots, keep protesting—take over your institutions!!! … help is on its way,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Jan. 13.

The Iranian regime went on a killing spree to suppress the unrest, with the U.S.-based Iranian Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reporting 3,090 fatalities, with 3,882 additional cases under review.

Iran International reported a death toll as high as 12,000, citing initial estimates by the Islamic Republic’s security institutions.

“At least 2,055 people have been reported with severe injuries, and the number of arrests has risen to 22,123,” HRANA reported on Friday.

The crackdown began after Tehran imposed an internet shutdown on Jan 8.

As of Saturday, the internet blackout in Iran remains intact, although some connectivity has been restored, Reuters cited semi-official Mehr News Agency as saying.

“Metrics show a very slight rise in internet connectivity in Iran this morning” after 200 hours of shutdown, cyber monitor NetBlocks posted on X. “overall connectivity remains at ~2% of ordinary levels and there is no indication of a significant return,” it added.

Also on Saturday, a woman in the city of Shiraz, in southwestern Iran, told BBC Persian that “security forces are still patrolling on motorbikes to keep the situation under control, but overall things have gone back to normal.”