Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has accused former US President Donald Trump of devising a plan to foment rebellion inside Iran, declaring the American leader responsible for the recent unrest in the country, 24NewsHD TV channel reported on Sunday.
According to the report, in a nationally televised address, Khamenei said the United States “wants to swallow Iran whole,” accusing Washington of openly encouraging demonstrators and backing what he described as attempts to destabilise the Islamic Republic.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei asserted that US President Trump had emboldened “rioters” and sought to weaken the Iranian state at a critical moment.
“The backbone of the sedition has been broken, and we will break the seditionists as well,” Khamenei said, vowing that none of the “internal or external criminals” involved in the disturbances would be forgiven.
His remarks appeared aimed at both domestic dissidents and foreign actors, whom Iranian authorities have long accused of supporting anti-government protests.
Iran has been facing waves of public demonstrations in recent weeks, with authorities blaming the unrest on foreign interference, particularly from the United States.
State media has repeatedly amplified claims that Western intelligence services were involved in fuelling street agitation.
Trump responded swiftly, issuing a statement declaring that “the time has come to find new leadership in Iran.”
He said Ayatollah Khamenei was “responsible for the destruction of Iran,” accusing the Supreme Leader of mismanagement, repression, and driving the country into economic and political isolation.
The exchange further escalates tensions between Washington and Tehran, whose relations have remained deeply strained since the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and the reimposition of economic sanctions.