Iran’s Khamenei lashes out at protesters as nationwide anti-regime unrest grows

Iran

Iran’s Khamenei lashes out at protesters as nationwide anti-regime unrest grows

At least 10 people killed as demonstrations spread across 100 locations in 22 provinces, opposition groups report

Benjamin Weinthal Fox News

Published

January 3, 2026 5:04pm EST

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The ruling Ayatollah of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Khamenei, on Saturday issued an angry response to the unfolding nationwide demonstrations against his regime’s political and economic corruption.

The 86-year-old Khamenei declared in his first public speech since the strikes and social unrest rocked his fragile regime seven days ago that, "A number of agitated people, enemy mercenaries, had positioned themselves behind bazaar merchants and chanted slogans against Islam, against Iran and against the Islamic Republic."

He added, "Protest is legitimate, but protest is different from rioting," but warned that "officials should speak with protesters. Speaking with a rioter is pointless. Rioters must be put in their place."

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Khamenei’s branding of the pro-democracy activists as "rioters" follows President Trump’s unprecedented message of solidarity to the demonstrators on Friday. "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," wrote Trump on the Truth Social media platform.

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. The regime’s forces shot peaceful activists, resulting in deaths and injuries.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

In this photo released on Thursday, 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 on Saturday the people of Kazerun demonstrated 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.

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

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He added, "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."

Benjamin Weinthal reports on Israel, Iran, Syria, Turkey and Europe. You can follow Benjamin on Twitter @BenWeinthal, and email him at benjamin.weinthal@fox.com

Iran’s Khamenei lashes out at protesters as nationwide anti-regime unrest grows