‘Maximum punishment’: Iran warns protesters as toll rises, Khamenei says Trump ‘will also fall’

Iran’s leadership on January 9 signalled an imminent crackdown on nationwide protests, openly defying US President Donald Trump’s pledge to support demonstrators as unrest intensified and the reported death toll climbed to at least 50. 

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed Trump’s warnings as hollow, accusing the US president of having hands “stained with the blood of Iranians,” even as crowds of regime supporters chanted “Death to America!” in footage aired by Iranian state television. State media later escalated its rhetoric, repeatedly branding protesters as “terrorists,” a label that has historically preceded violent security operations during previous waves of unrest. 

In a sharply worded post on X (formerly Twitter), Khamenei warned that Trump would meet the same fate as fallen rulers who overreached at the height of their power. “The US President who judges arrogantly about the whole world should know that tyrants & arrogant rulers of the world, such as Pharaoh, Nimrod, Mohammad Reza [Pahlavi] & other such rulers saw their downfall when they were at the peak of their hubris. He too will fall,” the Iranian leader wrote. 

Iran’s judiciary chief, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, struck an even more ominous note, vowing that punishment for protesters would be “decisive, maximum and without any legal leniency,” underscoring fears of a sweeping security response. 

Protests intensify under blackout 

Despite the government cutting off internet access and international telephone services, activists circulated short online videos purportedly showing protesters chanting slogans against the Islamic Republic around bonfires, with debris strewn across streets in Tehran and other cities into early Friday. The communications blackout has made it difficult to independently verify events on the ground or assess the full scale of the demonstrations. 

Iranian state media alleged that “terrorist agents” backed by the United States and Israel had set fires and instigated violence, reporting unspecified “casualties” without providing details. Even state-run and semi-official news outlets appeared to go offline during the blackout, with an acknowledgment by state television at 8 a.m. Friday marking the first official recognition of the unrest. 

The protests, which began on December 28 over Iran’s worsening economic conditions, have since evolved into the most serious challenge to the government in several years. Demonstrators have openly voiced support for the former shah — a taboo that once carried the risk of a death sentence — highlighting the depth of anger driving the movement. 

According to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, at least 50 people have been killed so far, while more than 2,270 others have been detained amid clashes surrounding the demonstrations. 

Economic collapse fuels anger 

Iran has experienced multiple waves of nationwide protests in recent years, but the current unrest comes as economic pressures deepen. Sanctions and the fallout from a recent 12-day war have battered the economy, with the rial collapsing in December to nearly 1.4 million to the U.S. dollar. Protesters have increasingly directed their fury at Iran’s theocratic leadership, blaming it for economic mismanagement and isolation. 

It remains unclear why authorities have not yet unleashed a broader crackdown, though rhetoric from senior officials suggests patience may be wearing thin. 

Trump raises stakes 

Washington has so far offered no formal response to Iran’s latest warnings. However, Trump has repeatedly threatened action if Iranian forces kill peaceful demonstrators — a warning that has gained added weight following a recent US military raid that seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. 

In an interview with talk show host Hugh Hewitt aired Thursday, Trump reiterated his stance. Iran, he said, had been warned “very strongly” that violent repression would carry consequences. “If they do that, they’re going to have to pay hell,” he said. 

Trump declined to say whether he would meet with Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah, saying it would be premature to do so. “I think that we should let everybody go out there, and we see who emerges,” he said. 

Speaking separately on Fox News, Trump went further, suggesting that Khamenei himself may be considering fleeing the country. “He’s looking to go someplace,” Trump said. “It’s getting very bad.” 

Khamenei dismissed those remarks in an address to supporters at his Tehran compound, accusing protesters of acting to please the US president. “They are ruining their own streets … in order to please the president of the United States,” he said. “Because he said that he would come to their aid. He should pay attention to the state of his own country instead.”