Iranian Leader and Trump Exchange Threats Amid Rising Protest Death Toll

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and U.S. President Donald Trump have exchanged threats amid escalating protests in Iran that have resulted in a significant death toll.

Khamenei posted an image of a crumbling statue resembling Trump on his official Farsi-language X account, stating that tyrants are often overthrown at the peak of their pride. He added, "This one too will be overthrown."

Shortly after, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that Iran may have crossed the administration's red line by killing protesters, adding that the U.S. military has "strong options" at its disposal. He also mentioned that Iranian leaders contacted him on Saturday, expressing a desire to negotiate. "They do. They called," Trump said when asked if he thinks Iran wants to engage diplomatically. "Iran called to negotiate yesterday—the leaders of Iran called yesterday. They want to negotiate. I think they're tired of being beat up by the United States," he said. "We may meet with them," he added. "A meeting is being set up, but we may have to act—because of what's happening—before the meeting, but a meeting is being set up," Trump said.

Protests have been spreading across the country since late December, initially sparked by economic grievances but evolving into broader anti-government demonstrations. The death toll from the protests had risen to 544 as of Sunday, according to data compiled by the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA). At least 10,681 people have been arrested, according to HRANA. Protests have taken place at 585 locations across the country, in 186 cities, spanning all 31 provinces, according to activists. The Iranian government has not provided any casualty figures for protesters related to the ongoing protests. State television has broadcast images of people attending morgues to identify bodies of friends and relatives. The state-aligned Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday that 109 security personnel had been killed in the protests.

Widespread and sustained internet outages have been reported across the country amid the deepening protests and reported government crackdown. Online monitoring group NetBlocks said early on Monday that Iran's "national internet blackout" had surpassed 84 hours.

Khamenei and top Iranian officials have said they are willing to engage with the economic grievances of protesters, though have also framed the unrest as driven by "rioters" and sponsored by foreign nations, prime among them the U.S. and Israel. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday described the wave of protests as a "terrorist war" while speaking to foreign diplomats in Tehran. Araghchi said that the situation is "under control" and that internet access would be restored. The foreign minister also claimed that Tehran had gathered extensive evidence showing U.S. and Israeli involvement in the protests over recent days. "We believe what took place after 8th of January was infiltration," he said, suggesting that "Mossad agents" are leading the demonstrations. Araghchi also criticized Western nations for failing to condemn what he called "terrorists."

On Monday, state television broadcast footage of pro-government rallies organized in Tehran and other major cities. The footage showed crowds waving Iranian flags in the capital's Revolution Square, shouting slogans including "death to America," "death to Israel," and "I'd sacrifice my life for the leader." State television described the Tehran demonstration as an "Iranian uprising against American-Zionist terrorism."

Dissident voices abroad, meanwhile, have encouraged further demonstrations. On Sunday, Iran's exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi addressed protesters in a post to X, announcing what he said was "a new phase of the national uprising to overthrow the Islamic Republic and reclaim our beloved Iran." "In addition to taking and holding the central streets of our cities, all institutions and apparatuses responsible for the regime's propaganda and for cutting communications are to be regarded as legitimate targets," Pahlavi wrote. "Employees of state institutions, as well as members of the armed and security forces, have a choice: stand with the people and become allies of the nation, or choose complicity with the murderers of the people—and bear the nation's lasting shame and condemnation," he added. "We are not alone. International support will soon arrive," Pahlavi wrote.