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The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, blamed President Donald Trump for inciting the protests that have shaken the country since December and that, according to human rights groups, have resulted in more than 3,000 deaths.
Jamenei accused Trump this Saturday of being a "criminal" for the fatalities, the material damage, and what he described as a smear campaign against the Iranian nation, in statements broadcast by state media.
According to the Supreme Leader, Washington and Tel Aviv would have organized and encouraged the unrest that spread throughout the country, noted the news agency Reuters.
The protests began on December 28 due to the worsening economic crisis and led to massive demonstrations calling for the end of the clerical regime, in what is considered the worst wave of social discontent in years.
Jamenei acknowledged that “several thousand deaths” have occurred during the unrest, although he attributed the violence to actors linked to the United States and Israel.
The organization Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), based in the United States, stated that it has verified 3,090 fatalities, including 2,885 protesters, as well as over 22,000 arrests.
Reuters noted that it has been unable to independently verify these figures due, among other factors, to the internet blackout imposed by the authorities.
Trump has warned on several occasions that he could intervene if Tehran executes protesters and threatened to take "very strong measures."
However, on Friday he thanked the Iranian authorities on social media for, as he said, having suspended mass executions, something that Iran denied, asserting that "there is no such plan."
In apparent response to those statements, Jamenei asserted that Iran will not seek war, but warned that it will not allow those he termed "internal or external criminals" to go unpunished.
The supreme leader stated that those responsible for fires, destruction of public property, and acts of violence committed "serious crimes."
Iran's attorney general recently announced that those detained will face severe punishments and labeled them as mohareb, an Islamic legal term that means "making war against God" and can carry the death penalty.
The authorities claim that among those arrested are individuals linked to opposition groups in exile.
Repression has coincided with new sanctions announced by Washington against Iranian officials and entities linked to the security apparatus and clandestine financial networks of the regime.
The United States stated that the measures respond to serious human rights violations and reiterated its support for the protesters.
Although protests seem to have decreased following the security offensive, residents cited by Reuters indicated that the tension persists.
The partial restoration of internet service was brief, and monitoring groups reported that the blackout returned, making independent verification of events in the country more difficult.
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