Trump says it’s ‘time to look for new leadership in Iran,’ targets Khamenei

Trump urges leadership change in Iran protests

US President Donald Trump on Saturday called for an end to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s 37-year rule in Iran, saying it was time for new leadership after protests challenging the Islamic Republic prompted threats of an American military response, Politico reported.

“It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran,” Trump told Politico, noting that widespread protests calling for the regime’s end appear to be waning. His remarks came after thousands of protesters across the country were killed over the last two weeks.

Trump had repeatedly threatened military intervention in support of the protesters, urging Iranians to keep demonstrating and “take over institutions” while “help is on the way.” On Wednesday, however, he struck a more conciliatory tone, saying he had received assurances that the killings had stopped.

Asked about the scale of a possible US operation in Iran, Trump said, “The best decision he ever made was not hanging more than 800 people two days ago.”

Trump also denounced Khamenei and Iran’s leadership. “The man is a sick man who should run his country properly and stop killing people. His country is the worst place to live anywhere in the world because of poor leadership.”

Khamenei, in turn, labelled Trump a “criminal” for supporting protesters in Iran, blaming him for causing thousands of deaths. “We find the US President guilty due to the casualties, damages and slander he inflicted upon the Iranian nation,” the Iranian Supreme Leader said, according to state television.

“In this revolt, the US president made remarks in person, encouraged seditious people to go ahead and said: ‘We do support you, we do support you militarily,’” Khamenei added, reiterating accusations that the US seeks control over Iran’s economic and political resources.

He described the protesters as “foot soldiers” of the United States and said they had destroyed mosques and educational centres. “Through hurting people, they killed several thousand of them,” he said.

Trump responded by condemning Iran’s use of oppression and violence. “What he is guilty of, as the leader of a country, is the complete destruction of the country and the use of violence at levels never seen before,” Trump said.

“In order to keep the country functioning — even though that function is 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. Leadership is about respect, not fear and death.”

The crackdown by Iran’s security forces has left at least 3,095 people dead, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, the highest toll in decades and reminiscent of unrest surrounding the 1979 revolution. Iran International reported that as many as 12,000 people may have been killed, much of it on January 8 and 9 during an ongoing internet blackout, allegedly under Khamenei’s direct orders and with live-fire authorization from the Supreme National Security Council.