Iran’s Supreme Leader Tells Trump He Will Be ‘Overthrown’

Iran is facing its most explosive uprising in years, and the regime’s response has pushed the nation into near-total darkness. As videos of burning streets and massive demonstrations flash across smuggled social media feeds, Iranian authorities have moved to choke off internet access nationwide. The blackout, activists say, is an attempt to smother a movement that has already taken dozens of lives.

But the turmoil has crossed borders, drawing an unmistakably sharper reaction from Washington. President Donald Trump, who returned to the Oval Office last January, delivered one of his most provocative warnings yet on Friday.

“You better not start shooting because we’ll start shooting too,” Trump said in off-the-cuff remarks during a White House press spray. “I just hope the protesters in Iran are going to be safe. It’s a very dangerous place right now.”

Trump’s comments came as satellite images and leaked cellphone footage showed crowds flooding streets from Tehran to Mashhad, chanting anti-government slogans and attacking symbols of the regime. A woman in Tehran could be heard screaming, “Death to Khamenei,” as flames lit up the horizon behind her.

Rights monitors say the death toll is climbing fast. The Iranian group HRANA reported at least 62 people killed in the last 12 days, including 48 protesters and 14 security personnel. Other activists believe the real number is much higher.

“It’s the worst crackdown since 2022. We’re getting messages begging for help, then silence when the internet goes dark,” said one U.S.-based Iranian dissident, who asked not to be named for security reasons.

The latest protests erupted over Iran’s collapsing economy. The rial lost half its value last year. Inflation officially topped 40 percent in December, though many Iranians say food prices feel closer to double that. As frustration boiled over, chants once focused on jobs quickly turned political.

“This is the year of blood. Seyed Ali will be overthrown,” demonstrators shouted in Shiraz, referring to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

State TV showed buses, banks, and metro stations engulfed in flames. But with the internet blackout blocking most communication, independent verification is difficult. Airlines in the region reported at least 17 flights between Dubai and Iran canceled in the past 24 hours.

Iran’s Ministry of Information said the blackout was ordered “by the competent security authorities,” but offered no timeline for restoration.

Khamenei, in a televised address dripping with defiance, accused protesters of acting on Washington’s behalf.

“The Islamic Republic came to power through blood. It will not back down in the face of vandals,” he declared, claiming demonstrators wanted to “please Trump.”

A public prosecutor followed with a chilling announcement: those “clashing with security forces” could face the death penalty.

While Trump has threatened military force twice in two weeks—reviving fears of an escalatory cycle in the Middle East—he appears cautious about directly backing an opposition figure. Asked whether he would meet Reza Pahlavi, the exiled crown prince living in the United States, Trump said he was “not inclined” to do so yet.

Privately, administration officials say Trump wants to avoid choosing a side too early. “He wants to let the situation develop,” one senior aide told the outlet on background.

European leaders, meanwhile, issued a rare joint rebuke. France, Britain, and Germany condemned the killing of protesters and demanded Iran restrain its security forces. At the United Nations, spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the body was “very disturbed” by the loss of life.

“People anywhere have the right to protest peacefully,” Dujarric said. “Governments have the obligation to protect that right.”

Iran’s opposition remains fractured. Monarchists loyal to Pahlavi, leftist student groups, Kurdish autonomy activists, and the controversial exiled group MEK all claim momentum but lack unified leadership inside the country.

Still, calls for mass demonstrations continue to spread.

“The eyes of the world are upon you. Take to the streets,” Pahlavi said in a video message posted shortly before Iran’s latest internet shutdown.

Analysts say the unrest reflects a deeper national despair that has been building for years.

“The sense of hopelessness is unlike anything we’ve seen,” said Alex Vatanka of Washington’s Middle East Institute. “There’s anger toward the regime, anger toward the economy, anger toward corruption. And it’s hitting every demographic at once.”

Iran has endured repeated cycles of revolt—1999, 2009, 2019, and the transformative 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom movement sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini. Though those protests were eventually crushed, women openly defying the hijab mandate has become a permanent act of resistance on Iran’s streets.

“In many ways, the regime has already lost the younger generation,” Vatanka said. “The question now is how far they’re willing to go to keep control.”

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, insisted Friday that foreign military intervention remained “very unlikely,” even as he confirmed Oman’s diplomatic visit to Tehran this weekend. Oman has often served as a back-channel negotiator between Iran and Washington during crises.

But the mood inside Iran is far more volatile, especially in minority regions like Zahedan, where witnesses say security forces opened fire on protesters after Friday prayers.

“We heard the bullets whistling above our heads,” one man told a Baluch rights group. “People were running in every direction.”

As the blackout continues and the government vows harsher crackdowns, many fear the world is witnessing the early stages of the bloodiest uprising in Iran in a generation.

And for the first time in years, the United States—under Trump’s renewed hardline posture—may be pulled back into a confrontation with Tehran that could reshape the Middle East yet again.