ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday slammed US President Donald Trump’s remarks about intervening on behalf of Iranian protesters, whom he described as “foreign agents” and “rioters,” saying that Tehran will not back down amid nationwide protests and an internet shutdown.

Trump has repeatedly threatened over the past week to “rescue” protesters if Iranian security forces begin killing demonstrators, coming as Iran saw its largest crowds on Thursday during 12 days of nationwide protests amid a nationwide internet shutdown.

The comments were widely condemned by senior Iranian politicians and officials, with many warning of possible retaliation.

“Last night in Tehran and in some other places, a group of destructive people came and vandalized buildings belonging to their own country just to please the president of the United States,” Khamenei said on Friday, as aired by state broadcaster IRIB.

He dismissed Trump’s remarks as “irrelevant,” accusing him of siding with “rioters and people who are harmful to the country,” and later describing protesters as “foreign agents” and “inexperienced and careless people” acting in line with Trump’s “wishes.” 

Iran has a long history of labeling protesters as “rioters” and alleging ties to the US and Israel, responding with heavy crackdowns, arrests, and, in some cases, charges that carry the death penalty.

“We will not tolerate serving foreign powers. Whoever you want to be, once you become a foreign agent and work for outsiders, the people will consider you rejected, and the Islamic system will consider you rejected as well.”

“Let everyone know that the Islamic Republic came to power with the blood of several hundred thousand honorable people, and it will not back down in the face of those who engage in destruction,” he stressed.

Iran has intensified its crackdown on protesters as demonstrations continue to expand, despite government claims of a softer approach.

As the protests drew their largest crowds nearly two weeks of demonstrations on Thursday, the Iranian government shut down the internet, continuing its pattern of restricting online platforms during periods of unrest to control the flow of news.

As of Friday, 42 protesters had been identified as “killed by direct fire from government forces” during the recent nationwide protests, according to the Oslo-based Hengaw Human Rights Organization. 

The toll is expected to rise due to footage received by The New Region from Thursday evening’s crackdown and limited communication amid Iran’s nationwide internet shutdown.

Trump, in an interview with Fox News aired Friday, expressed solidarity with Iranian protesters and cited Iran’s history of “machine guns gunning them [protesters] down,” saying, “If they do that, we’re going to hit them very hard. We can hit them hard. We’re ready to do it.”

In his Friday speech, Khamenei referred to Trump as embodying “arrogance and pride,” saying that all who act with arrogance have been overthrown and adding, “He too will be overthrown.”

Referring to the June war that saw Iran targeted by Israel and the US, Khamenei said Trump claimed he “gave the order,” adding that “he admitted that his hands are stained with Iranian blood.”

In June, Israel killed top brass Iranian military commanders and nuclear scientists with airstrikes, prompting retaliatory attacks by Tehran, with the two trading salvos of missiles and drones for 12 days. The US also bombed the key Natanz and Fordow nuclear sites in the country near the end of the conflict.

Nationwide protests in Iran have entered their second week, beginning on December 27 at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, where business owners and shopkeepers launched strikes and protests over the falling value of the Iranian rial against the US dollar. The unrest later spread to other provinces, with chants increasingly targeting the state. 

Nationwide protests continue across Iran, with even the country’s most conservative cities, Mashhad and Qom, and the Tehran Grand Bazaar participating in strikes and demonstrations. 

These areas had largely stayed out of the country’s largest protests.