Iran is facing its most widespread unrest in more than a decade, as Donald Trump warned that the Islamic Republic is “in big trouble” and accused its leaders of losing control of major cities.
In a televised interview with Fox News, Trump said Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “is looking to go someplace,” citing Western intelligence assessments that suggest Khamenei and senior officials may be preparing escape options abroad by moving assets out of the country.
Trump also repeated his earlier warning that the United States would respond with force if Iranian authorities continued killing protesters.
The comments followed several days of mass demonstrations driven by soaring inflation and economic collapse. According to The Telegraph, protests have spread to most of Iran’s 31 provinces, with unrest reported in Tehran, Mashhad, Tabriz, and Qom. Videos circulating online show government buildings set ablaze and crowds chanting anti-regime slogans.
Attempts by the government to calm public anger, including proposals for a monthly stipend of about $7, have been widely dismissed by demonstrators as meaningless.
Iranian authorities have responded with a nationwide internet shutdown and a violent crackdown. France 24 reported that at least 51 protesters have been killed, including nine children, while activists and non-governmental organizations say hundreds more have been injured or detained.
In a televised address, Khamenei condemned the protesters, calling them “vandals” and “saboteurs.” He said the Islamic Republic would not retreat in the face of unrest and accused the United States of fomenting chaos inside Iran.
Khamenei also attacked Trump personally, describing him as “arrogant” and claiming his hands were “stained with the blood of more than a thousand Iranians.”
The protests began on Dec. 28 with a strike at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar and escalated rapidly as inflation climbed to roughly 40%.
Demonstrators across the country have chanted slogans such as “death to the dictator” and “death to the Islamic Republic,” while crowds were seen tearing down statues of Qasem Soleimani and attacking government facilities.
Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah, has emerged as a prominent opposition voice, calling for sustained street protests and urging Trump to support demonstrators. He said “the regime’s repressive power becomes weaker” as public participation grows.
Despite the internet blackout, protesters have used Starlink, owned by Elon Musk, and other tools to bypass censorship and share footage showing burning vehicles, massive crowds, and attacks on regime offices.
Human rights organizations report that security forces have fired pellet guns into crowds. Exiled Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi warned that the situation could devolve into a massacre, saying hospitals in Tehran have treated hundreds of people with severe eye injuries.
Iran’s main security apparatus, operating under the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has reportedly warned that any serious threat to the survival of the Islamic government would cross a “red line” and provoke a decisive response.
In the southeastern city of Zahedan, police opened fire on demonstrators following Friday prayers, though the number of casualties remains unclear as tensions continue to escalate nationwide.
