Iran’s supreme leader signaled that security forces would crack down on protesters, directly challenging U.S. President Donald Trump’s pledge to support those peacefully demonstrating. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed Trump as having hands “stained with the blood of Iranians” while State media referred to demonstrators as “terrorists,” setting the stage for a violent crackdown. Human Rights Lawyer and Amnesty International Iran Researcher Raha Bahreini offers an unflinching view into the latest wave of civil unrest in Iran: Economic grievances and a widespread demand for systemic change, all under the violent shadow of a brutally oppressive regime.
