Iran Erupts: Massive Protests Torch Buildings, Slam Khamenei as Trump Vows Strikes
Khamenei accused the protesters of acting on behalf of US President Donald Trump, accusing rioters of attacking public property and warning that Tehran would not accept people who acted as “mercenaries for foreigners.”
Aadrika Tayal 
New Delhi (India) January 9: Iranians staged their largest protests yet in an almost two-week uprising fueled by anger over increased living costs and chanting slogans like “death to the dictator” and setting fire to government buildings, videos showed on Friday, even as Iran’s theocracy locked Iran out of the internet and international telephone calls.
Khamenei's Fiery Speech Signals Crackdown on "Saboteurs"
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blasted protesters in a Friday speech that state television showed, saying that the Islamic republic ‘will not back down’ in response to what are deemed “saboteurs.”
The party’s Supreme Leader urges that “rioters must be put in their place,” which is perceived as a go-ahead for the security forces to start acting more aggressively in stifling the demonstrations.
Khamenei denounced the protesters as acting for US President Donald Trump saying they were attacking public property while warning that Tehran would not allow people to be “mercenaries for foreigners.” He accused Trump of having hands “stained with the blood” of Iranians.
Trump Warns of US Strikes if Protesters Are Killed
Donald Trump has threatened to attack Iran if security forces shoot protesters. Few clues suggest that those threats from the US will end anytime soon. Washington has extended support to Iranian demonstrators.
In a Monday speech made to reporters from Air Force One, Trump warned the Iranian leadership that, if people are killed, it will be “hit very hard by the United States” but on Friday Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the US president should “focus on the problems of his own country.”
Tehran Mayor Reveals Attacks on Banks, Hospitals, Mosques
Iran’s capital Tehran’s mayor has just issued an update about how mass protests affect the city’s infrastructure as anger over economic turmoil continues to escalate.
Alireza Zakani said protesters have targeted infrastructure in the economy — including 26 banks — and two hospitals and 25 mosques. Zakani said police facilities and 48 fire trucks were attacked too.
Protests Ignite from Bazaar Over 52% Inflation Crisis
The current protests, the largest wave of dissent in three years, started last month in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar where shopkeepers spoke out against the currency’s unfettered slide.
Unrest has since metastasized across the country amid acute unhappiness over economic woes, such as soaring inflation fueled by mismanagement and Western sanctions, and restrictions on political and social freedoms.
Inflation in December was 52 percent a year from a year earlier, based on official data from the Statistical Centre of Iran. Iranian authorities have acknowledged the economic difficulties impacting on the Iranian economy but accused foreign power-linked networks of fuelling the protests.
