We do consider the US president a criminal, because of casualties and damages
In the aftermath of one of the deadliest suppressions of dissent in modern Iranian history, Supreme Leader Khamenei stepped before state television to name an enemy and assign a verdict — branding Donald Trump a criminal and framing foreign hands as the architects of bloodshed that claimed thousands of lives. The exchange between Tehran and Washington reveals an old and unresolved tension: when a people rise against their government, the world must decide whether to call it revolution or interference. For now, the streets of Iran are quiet, the internet flickers back to life, and the question of who bears responsibility for the dead remains fiercely contested.
- At least 3,090 people were killed in the crackdown that followed protests beginning December 28 — the deadliest suppression of dissent in Iran in decades, surpassing even the violence of the 1979 revolution.
- Khamenei publicly acknowledged the scale of the bloodshed for the first time, but turned the narrative outward, casting protesters as foreign foot soldiers and Trump as a criminal who armed and encouraged them.
- Trump's own messaging was contradictory — praising Iran one day for halting executions, warning of military consequences the next — leaving the rhetorical standoff between the two leaders unresolved and volatile.
- Iranian authorities imposed a near-total internet blackout on January 8, severing Iranians from the outside world; partial connectivity returned Saturday, though its cause and permanence remain uncertain.
- Exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi called for renewed protests through the weekend, but the streets stayed silent — suggesting either the movement's exhaustion, the crackdown's effectiveness, or both.
On Saturday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared on state television to deliver a pointed accusation: Donald Trump, he said, was a criminal, complicit in the deaths of thousands of Iranians. It was the first time an Iranian leader had publicly acknowledged the scale of the unrest that erupted on December 28, and Khamenei used the moment not to mourn but to assign blame outward.
At the center of his argument were Trump's own words — statements of military support for Iranian demonstrators that Khamenei held up as proof of foreign interference. He described the protesters as instruments of American policy, claiming they had destroyed mosques and schools with weapons smuggled from abroad. The framing was deliberate: this was not a people's uprising, but an invasion by other means.
The death toll told a different story about the scale of what had occurred. Independent monitors documented at least 3,090 deaths — a figure that dwarfs any comparable episode of unrest in modern Iran and rivals the chaos of the revolution that brought the Islamic Republic into being. The Associated Press could not independently confirm the number, but the credibility of the monitoring network behind it was well established.
By Saturday, an uneasy stillness had descended on Iranian cities. Shops had reopened in Tehran, and the streets carried the surface appearance of ordinary life. The internet blackout imposed on January 8 had begun to ease slightly — text messages moved again, some local sites became reachable — though whether this was a deliberate policy shift or a technical adjustment for the working week was unclear.
From exile, Reza Pahlavi — son of the shah overthrown in 1979 — called on Iranians to return to the streets. The call went unheeded. Whether the silence reflected the movement's exhaustion, the weight of surveillance, or the sheer effectiveness of the crackdown, the moment of mass mobilization had, for now, passed. Iran's leadership had reasserted its hold, and the argument over who was responsible for the dead had moved from the streets into the realm of competing declarations.
On Saturday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei took to state television to deliver a message aimed squarely at Donald Trump: the American president was a criminal, complicit in the deaths of thousands. In a speech that marked the first time an Iranian leader had publicly acknowledged the scale of the bloodshed, Khamenei said the wave of protests that erupted on December 28 had left "several thousand" people dead. He did not mince words about who he held responsible.
Khamenei's accusation centered on Trump's recent statements of support for the Iranian demonstrators. The Supreme Leader quoted the American president's remarks—"We do support you, we do support you militarily"—and used them as evidence of foreign meddling. "We do consider the US president a criminal, because of casualties and damages, because of accusations against the Iranian nation," Khamenei said. He characterized the protesters themselves as "foot soldiers" of the United States, claiming they had destroyed mosques and educational centers, and suggesting that weapons used in the unrest had been smuggled in from abroad.
The timing of Khamenei's speech was notable. Just a day earlier, Trump had struck a different tone, praising Iran for canceling the executions of over 800 people and saying he "greatly respect[ed]" the decision. Trump had previously warned that his administration would "act accordingly" if the killing of demonstrators continued or if detained protesters were executed—language that suggested the possibility of military intervention. Now, with Khamenei's public rebuke, the two leaders were locked in a rhetorical standoff over who bore responsibility for the bloodshed.
The death toll itself was staggering. According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, at least 3,090 people had been killed in the crackdown—a figure that exceeded any previous round of unrest in Iran in recent decades and rivaled the chaos of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The agency, which relies on a network of activists inside Iran to confirm each reported death, has maintained credibility throughout years of monitoring demonstrations. The Associated Press was unable to independently verify the toll, but the scale was undeniable: this was the deadliest suppression of dissent in modern Iranian history.
By Saturday, an uneasy quiet had settled over Iran's cities. In Tehran, shops had reopened and street life had returned to its surface appearance of normalcy. There had been no visible signs of protests for days. The authorities had imposed a near-total internet blackout on January 8, cutting off Iranians from the wider world. But on Saturday morning, limited connectivity began to return—text messaging resumed, local websites became accessible, and some users reported being able to reach international sites through virtual private networks. Whether this was a deliberate easing of restrictions or simply a technical adjustment for the start of the working week remained unclear. Internet monitoring services detected only slight increases in connectivity.
An exiled voice called for renewed resistance. Reza Pahlavi, the Crown Prince whose father had been overthrown by the 1979 revolution, urged Iranians to return to the streets from Saturday through Monday. But by Saturday afternoon, there was no sign that his call had resonated. Pahlavi, who enjoys support among monarchist exiles but has struggled to build a following inside Iran, has positioned himself as a potential transitional leader should the government fall. Yet his appeal appeared limited, and the streets remained quiet. Whether this reflected the effectiveness of the crackdown, the exhaustion of the protest movement, or simply the difficulty of organizing under conditions of surveillance and internet restriction was unclear. What was certain was that Iran's leadership had reasserted control, and the moment of mass mobilization had, for now, passed.
Citações Notáveis
We do consider the US president a criminal, because of casualties and damages, because of accusations against the Iranian nation.— Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader
Iran cancelled the hanging of over 800 people. I greatly respect the fact that they cancelled.— Donald Trump, US President
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does Khamenei need to name Trump at all? Why not just say the protests were foreign-backed without personalizing it?
Because Trump made it personal first. He spoke directly to Iranian protesters, promised support, used language about military backing. Khamenei is answering that directly—he's saying: you're not supporting freedom fighters, you're supporting my enemies, and I'm naming you as responsible for the dead.
The death toll—3,090—is enormous. Why would the Iranian government acknowledge "several thousand" at all? Wouldn't they want to minimize it?
That's the puzzle. By acknowledging the scale, Khamenei shifts the blame. He's saying yes, thousands died, but it's because the protesters were armed, imported weapons, destroyed property. He's not denying the deaths; he's reframing them as the protesters' fault, not the security forces'.
Trump praised Iran for canceling 800 executions. That sounds like a win. Why does it feel hollow?
Because we don't know if those executions were actually planned, or if Trump was simply told they were canceled. He admits he didn't clarify who he spoke to. It's a claim without verification—useful for both sides to claim victory without actually knowing what happened.
The internet came back on Saturday. Is that a sign things are normalizing, or a sign the government feels secure enough to restore it?
Probably both. The crackdown worked—the streets are quiet, there are no new protests. Keeping the internet off indefinitely damages the economy and looks like panic. Turning it back on, even partially, suggests confidence that the moment has passed.
Pahlavi called for more protests and nobody answered. What does that tell us?
It tells us that exiled opposition, no matter how legitimate, can't compete with the reality on the ground. He has no network, no way to organize, no credibility with ordinary Iranians who are exhausted or frightened. The diaspora can call for revolution, but the people living under the boot have to calculate the cost.