Iran's Supreme Leader blames Trump for the protests and vows "maximum punishment" for demonstrators.

Earlier today, Iran's Supreme Leader signaled that his regime's security forces would take punitive measures against anyone protesting or defying the authority of his regime. The announcement comes in the wake of Donald Trump's threat to distract from the Epstein Files act in defence of peaceful protestors in the Islamic Republic.

Ignoring the fact that Iranians have had it up to their minarets with oppressive laws, brutal punishments, secret police, and the crushing systemic misogyny that has lorded over the nation's women, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared that all the rioting, protests, and burning in Tehran is the fault of the Trump administration:

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed Trump as having hands "stained with the blood of Iranians" as supporters shouted "Death to America!" in footage aired by Iranian state television. State media later repeatedly referred to demonstrators as "terrorists," setting the stage for a violent crackdown like those that have followed other nationwide protests in recent years.

Protesters are "ruining their own streets … in order to please the president of the United States," Khamenei said to a crowd at his compound in Tehran. "Because he said that he would come to their aid. He should pay attention to the state of his own country instead."

At this point, maybe the world should agree that Trump's attention being focused on any country is bad for all of us.

The Iranian government has vowed that protests will be met with "decisive, maximum" punishment without any "legal leniency." A strongman won't roll over for another strongman. Oppressive power stays in power by being oppressive, so of course Khamenei is going to crack down on anyone getting rowdy. Given how violently the Iranian government treats its citizens most of the time, it's hard to say whether it'll go harder on its people than usual because of Trump's saber rattling.

Previously:
• U.S. bombs Iran in June, then deports Iranians seeking asylum in September