Iran’s supreme leader says he won’t bow down to protests or Trump
More protests loom Friday, a day after the largest demonstrations in years rocked Tehran.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said Friday the Islamic Republic won’t back down in the face of fast-growing protests and threats from President Trump to intervene.
New protests have been called for Friday, a day after the largest demonstrations in years swept through Tehran. Demonstrations that started in late December amid anger over Iran’s plunging currency and high inflation have increasingly turned into calls for regime change.
Protesters on Thursday chanted antigovernment slogans including expressions of support for Reza Pahlavi, the heir to the monarchy toppled by the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Khamenei, who has ruled the country since 1989, told a gathering of supporters Friday in the holy city of Qom that he had no plan to cede power.
“Everyone should know that the Islamic Republic will not retreat," he said. He blamed the unrest in Tehran on “vandals" eager “to please the President of the United States."
Late Thursday, Trump said in an interview on Fox News that the regime could be on the verge of collapsing and reiterated his threat to intervene if the government cracks down with deadly force.
“The enthusiasm to overturn that regime is incredible," he said in the interview.
The threat carries new urgency for Tehran following the U.S. raid on Caracas to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, which has raised uncertainty around how far the president is willing to go.
In his speech, Khamenei told the U.S. president to focus on problems in his own country. Arrogant rulers throughout history “were overthrown at the height of their pride," the supreme leader said, citing a number of names including the last shah of Iran. Trump, he said, “will also be overthrown."
Mustapha Pakzad, a geopolitical analyst focused on Iran, said the speech is unlikely to have much effect on a population struggling to survive economically.
The government has acknowledged the protesters’ economic complaints but also has used its security forces to keep the demonstrations under control.
More than 2,000 people have been arrested and at least 36 killed in unrest that has now spread to 92 cities, according to the most recent tally from the group Human Rights Activists in Iran.
Write to Benoit Faucon at benoit.faucon@wsj.com
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