Iran’s national security chief Ali Larijani accused US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being the “main killers of the people of Iran” as protests across the country intensified, leaving at least 2,000 people reported dead, after Trump cancelled meetings with Iranian officials over the bloodshed.
Hours after Trump urged Iranians to “take over” government institutions, Larijani, a former parliament speaker who now serves as secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, posted on X.
“We declare the names of the main killers of the people of Iran,” Larijani wrote. “1- Trump. 2- Netanyahu.”
Also Read | Trump tells Iranians to ‘keep protesting, take over institutions’, says ‘help on its way’
What did Iran’s national security chief say?
Larijani said Washington and Tel Aviv were causing the unrest, which has now claimed the lives of many. Trump said the United States would take “very strong action” if Iran begins executing protesters.
“I haven’t heard about the hanging. If they hang them, you’re going to see some things… We will take very strong action if they do such a thing,” Trump told CBS News in an interview.
Trump stated that he had cancelled all meetings with Iranian officials until what he called the senseless killing of protestors stop. In a Truth Social post, he urged Iranians to continue protesting, saying that “help is on its way,” without giving details.
He did not give details of what that help would involve, but the remarks came after Trump said Iran wanted to negotiate with Washington following his threat to strike the Islamic Republic.
The standoff also followed Trump’s claim over the weekend that Iran had reached out to negotiate and that a meeting was being arranged, a statement Tehran has not publicly confirmed.