In his first comments on the escalating protests since January 3, Khamenei on Friday called the demonstrators “vandals” and “saboteurs”
A video of one of Iran’s biggest mosques on fire, with a wave of protestors chanting anti-regime slogans, has been making rounds on social media as the country witnesses one of the biggest uprisings in three years.
The video has been shared by Iranian rights activist Masih Alinejad. “One of Iran’s biggest mosques burned during uprising. Don’t panic. This isn’t chaos. It’s 47 years of rage. For 47 years, after every Allahu Akbar from these minarets, innocent Iranians were executed by an Islamist regime,” she said in a post on X.
One of Iran’s biggest mosques burned during uprising.
Don’t panic. This isn’t chaos.
It’s 47 years of rage.
For 47 years, after every Allahu Akbar from these minarets, innocent Iranians were executed by an Islamist regime. pic.twitter.com/oHtMpPjHQA— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) January 10, 2026
Firstpost cannot confirm the authenticity of this video.
In his first comments on the escalating protests since January 3, Khamenei on Friday called the demonstrators “vandals” and “saboteurs”.
Khamenei, in a speech broadcast on state TV, said US President Donald Trump’s hands “are stained with the blood of more than a thousand Iranians”, in apparent reference to Israel’s June war against the Islamic republic, which the US supported and joined with strikes of its own.
He predicted the “arrogant” US leader would be “overthrown” like the imperial dynasty that ruled Iran up to the 1979 revolution.
“Everyone knows the Islamic republic came to power with the blood of hundreds of thousands of honourable people, it will not back down in the face of saboteurs.”
Meanwhile, Reza Pahlavi, the exiled prince of Iran, has urged US President Donald Trump to intervene in the uprising that has led to a clash between protestors and security officials.
A second wave of protests began earlier this week after Pahlavi encouraged outraged citizens to speak up against the Islamic Republic as Iran faces severe economic hardships. The current protests, the biggest wave of dissent in three years, began last month in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar with shopkeepers condemning the rial currency’s free fall.
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