Khamenei gives stark warning to Trump; exiled Reza Pahlavi seeks urgent US intervention – Alfaaz – The Words

Tehran: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Friday launched a sharp attack on Donald Trump, accusing him of viewing the world with arrogance and warning that leaders who display such “hubris” inevitably meet a downfall. This came in retort to Trump’s “hard strikes” warning to Iran if it continued to harm protesters. Amid the intense unfolding of events, Iran’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi stepped in, seeking urgent intervention from the US President.

In a series of posts on X, Khamenei said tyrants and “arrogant rulers” throughout history were brought down when they were at the height of their power. Drawing on historical and religious symbolism, he compared Trump to figures widely portrayed as embodiments of oppression and excess. Protests across Iran have killed 62 people so far.

Khamenei’s ‘will fall’ warning for Trump

“The US President who judges arrogantly about the whole world should know that tyrants and arrogant rulers of the world, such as Pharaoh, Nimrod, Mohammad Reza [Pahlavi] and other such rulers saw their downfall when they were at the peak of their hubris. He, too, will fall,” Khamenei wrote.

The Iranian leader referred to Pharaoh, the ancient Egyptian ruler opposed by Prophet Moses in Islamic and biblical traditions; Nimrod, a legendary tyrant in Abrahamic texts; and Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iran’s last shah, who was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution and later died in exile.

Despite severe restrictions on internet access and international phone services imposed by Iranian authorities, short videos shared online by activists appeared to show protesters chanting slogans against the government around bonfires, with debris scattered across streets in Tehran and other cities into Friday morning.

Iranian state media claimed that “terrorist agents” linked to the US and Israel were responsible for setting fires and inciting violence. It also reported “casualties” without providing further details.

The full scale of the demonstrations could not be independently verified due to the communications blackout. However, the unrest marked a further escalation of protests that began over Iran’s struggling economy and have since evolved into the most serious challenge to the government in several years. The demonstrations have steadily intensified since December 28.

Iran anti-government protests leave 62 dead

Iran has experienced repeated nationwide protests in recent years. Activists said Friday that the death toll in nationwide protests in Iran jumped to at least 62, while more than 2,300 others have been detained. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency offered the toll.

After sanctions tightened and the country faced economic strain following a 12-day war, the rial collapsed in December, plunging to 1.4 million to the dollar. Protests soon followed, with demonstrators openly chanting against Iran’s theocratic system.

It remains unclear why authorities have not launched a more forceful crackdown. Trump warned last week that if Tehran “violently kills peaceful protesters,” the United States “will come to their rescue.”

Return of the hah rule in Iran? Why Reza Pahlavi matters

The protests have also become a test of whether public sentiment could shift in favour of Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s last shah, who fled the country shortly before the 1979 revolution.

Pahlavi, whose father is terminally ill, called for protests on Thursday night and again urged demonstrations at 8 pm (local time on Friday).

In posts on X, Pahlavi said, “Mr President, this is an urgent and immediate call for your attention, support, and action. Last night, you saw the millions of brave Iranians in the streets facing down live bullets. Today, they are facing not just bullets but a total communications blackout. No Internet. No landlines”.

Some rallies have included chants supporting the return of the shah, a position that once could have led to a death sentence, highlighting the depth of anger driving the protests that were initially sparked by economic hardship.