Trump, after being read a series of hostile X posts from Iran’s supreme leader, said the ayatollah is guilty of “the complete destruction of his country.”
By Sophia Cai | Politico | Jan 17, 2025
President Donald Trump on Saturday called for an end to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s 37-year reign.
“It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran,” Trump told POLITICO, as widespread protests calling for an end to the regime appear to have waned.
Thousands of protesters across the country were killed over the last three weeks, prompting Trump to repeatedly threaten military intervention. On Tuesday, Trump called on Iranians to keep protesting and “take over institutions,” saying that “help is on its way.”
The next day, the president abruptly changed course, saying he had been informed that the killings had stopped.
“The best decision he ever made was not hanging more than 800 people two days ago,” Trump said Saturday, when asked about the size of a possible U.S. military operation in Iran.
Trump’s comments came shortly after Khamenei’s X account posted a series of hostile messages aimed at Trump, accusing the U.S. president of being responsible for deadly violence and unrest in Iran.
“We find the US President guilty due to the casualties, damages and slander he inflicted upon the Iranian nation,” Khamenei wrote.
In another post, he said Trump had mischaracterized violent groups as representing the Iranian people, calling it “an appalling slander.”
Trump needs to talk less and do more. Kill the Iranian leaders now. Talking alone will not help Iranians overthrow their nasty government because the government has weapons, the people do not.