Leader: Iran will not back down against vandals seeking to please Washington

The Islamic Revolution Leader says Tehran will stand firm against vandalism and foreign-backed unrest, noting that Iran “will not back down” in the face of those acting to curry favor with the US president.

Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei made the statement on Friday amid days of foreign-backed riots in some Iranian cities.

Pointing to the damage incurred to the public property last night by a “bunch of vandals”, Ayatollah Khamenei said that they have done that “to make the American president happy.”

The vandals were encouraged by “baseless” remarks from Washington promising support if Iran acted in a certain way, noted the Leader. 

Referring directly to US President Donald Trump, Ayatollah Khamenei dismissed his repeated claims of standing with the Iranian people. “If he can, he should run his own country,” the Leader said, pointing to unrest and crises inside the United States.

Ayatollah Khamenei also pointed to the direct responsibility of Trump for killing hundreds of Iranians during the 12-day US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran in June 2025.

“He himself said, ‘I gave the order,’” the Leader noted, adding that the admission amounted to a confession that the US president’s “hands are stained with the blood of Iranians.”

He said this made Washington’s claims of supporting the Iranian nation “meaningless.”

He also criticized the naivety of those who follow foreign cues. “Some inexperienced and thoughtless people believe him and act according to his wishes,” Ayatollah Khamenei said, citing acts such as setting fire to trash bins “so that he would be pleased.”

Stressing the state’s red lines, the Leader said the Islamic Republic, which he noted was established through the sacrifice of “hundreds of thousands of honorable people,” would not tolerate destruction or foreign servitude.

“The Islamic Republic will not back down against vandals. It will not tolerate mercenaries of foreigners,” he said, adding that anyone who works for foreign powers is “rejected” both by the nation and the Islamic system.

Ayatollah Khamenei likened the US president to past tyrants, saying figures such as Pharaoh, Nimrod and Iran’s former dictators were toppled “at the height of their arrogance.” “This one will be toppled as well,” he said.

The remarks came as Iranian officials reiterated that while peaceful protests over economic grievances are legitimate and will be addressed, violence and sabotage will not be tolerated.

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Authorities say rioters have exploited public concern over rising living costs and the sharp depreciation of the rial—problems attributed to unilateral US sanctions targeting Iran’s central bank and oil exports.

Security and judicial officials have announced the dismantling of several armed terror cells and the arrest of foreign-linked operatives, saying the unrest has claimed the lives of several law enforcement officers.

Iranian officials say acts of violence have been openly encouraged by American and Israeli figures, including Trump’s warnings that Washington could attack Iran if what he called “peaceful protesters” were harmed, as well as statements by former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hinting at Israeli intelligence involvement and separatist plots.

Ayatollah Khamenei closed by urging unity, particularly among the youth. “Preserve your faith, your political awareness, your presence and your readiness,” he said, repeating his call to safeguard national unity. “A united nation overcomes any enemy.”

On Friday, large crowds of Iranians took to the streets across the country to denounce the riots, voicing support for the Islamic Republic and echoing the leader’s call for unity in the face of foreign pressure.

US eyes other nations' resources

Elsewhere in his remarks, Ayatollah Khamenei dismissed those who become upset by Iran’s resistance to the United States as “heedless,” stressing that they ignore a basic reality: it was the US and its allies that “started the confrontation with the Iranian nation and continue it.”

He said Washington’s hostility stems from the fact that the Islamic Republic, backed by popular support, “took vast wealth and enormous resources of Iran out of their grip,” a development that has left the US “angered and resentful.”

Pointing to Latin American affairs as a clear example of US behavior — an apparent reference to Washington’s recent aggression on Venezuela and the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro — Ayatollah Khamenei said the United States seeks to seize other nations’ resources.

“They besiege a country and shamelessly say we did it for the oil,” he said, recalling that before Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, the country’s oil and resources were likewise “in the hands of the arrogant powers, the Zionists, and their agents.”

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