The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, responded with fury to the widespread protests erupting across the country, targeting his government’s political and economic mismanagement. On Saturday, Khamenei, who is 86 years old, addressed the nation for the first time since the unrest began a week ago.

In his speech, Khamenei accused the demonstrators of being “agitated individuals” and “enemy mercenaries,” suggesting they were hiding behind the facade of bazaar merchants to promote anti-Islam, anti-Iran, and anti-Islamic Republic sentiments. He emphasized that while legitimate protest is acceptable, it should not be confused with rioting. “Officials should engage with protesters,” he said. “However, engaging with rioters is futile. Rioters need to be dealt with firmly.”

This characterization of the protestors as “rioters” came shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his support for the demonstrators in a bold statement on Friday. Trump, using his platform on Truth Social, warned, “If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), an organization advocating for the overthrow of Khamenei’s regime, provided details to Fox News Digital, indicating that security forces loyal to Khamenei had once again resorted to opening fire on the protesters. This ongoing tension highlights the volatile situation in Iran, as citizens demand change amid a backdrop of international attention and pressure.

“If Iran shots [sic] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

According to information supplied to Fox News Digital from the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), an organization that seeks to topple Khamenei’s regime, Khamenei’s security forces again opened fire on protesters.

In Malekshahi, Ilam province, young people demonstrated, and the regime’s forces shot peaceful activists, resulting in deaths and injuries.

In this photo released June 26, 2025, by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a televised speech under a portrait of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

As of Saturday, the regime has killed at least ten people. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said demonstrations unfolded in more than 100 locations in 22 of Iran’s 31 provinces. The NCRI said 30 protesters in Malekshahi were shot and were in critical condition.

The dissident group also said that the people of Kazerun demonstrated Saturday in the city’s Shohada Square, where security fired live ammunition at the protesters. Young anti-regime demonstrators in the Golshan district of Shiraz blocked the road by setting tires on fire.

A protester faces Iranian security forces during clashes amid nationwide unrest, according to images released by the Iranian opposition group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran. (NCRI )

Students at Shahrood University of Technology chanted, “Students will die but not accept humiliation.” And students at Allameh University’s Hemmat dormitory in Tehran declared, “Death to the dictator.”

NCRI leader Maryam Rajavi’s response to Khamenei on Saturday noted that “Khamenei is right; 80 million Iranians are his enemy. They have only one message for him: pack up his rule and remove his scourge from the Iranian people. Better still if he comes to his senses and leaves of his own accord. Khamenei must know that threats, bluster, and repression cannot stop the uprising. A nation who has taken to the streets will not stand down until democracy and popular sovereignty are achieved.”

Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s last Shah, wrote on X, “Ali Khamenei, fearing the growing waves of this national uprising, has emerged from his hiding place to threaten the people of Iran. Khamenei: We, the people of Iran, will pull you down from your teetering perch like Zahhak the despot and will free our beloved Iran from you and your regime.

“To the military and law enforcement forces: do not tie your fate to the sinking ship of the Islamic Republic. Join the people and separate yourselves from this corrupt system. Your weapons are for defending the nation, not suppressing it. Those who fire bullets at the people should be certain that they will be identified and punished. Fellow countrymen: do not abandon the streets; increase your presence. The world sees your resistance and bravery and supports you.”