Tehran. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has made a direct and very harsh attack on US President Donald Trump. Addressing his supporters in Tehran and in a message posted on social media platform X, Khamenei described Trump as the world’s most arrogant ruler. He said in a warning tone that history is witness to the fact that whenever the arrogance of a dictator has reached its peak, his downfall is certain. Comparing Trump to history’s cruel characters Pharaoh, Nimrod and Iran’s last Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Khamenei said the current US leadership is also on the same destructive path.
Khamenei used religious and historical symbols deeply in his statement. He said that the American President who arrogantly takes decisions about the whole world should know that dictatorship always ends badly. He cited the example of Pharaoh, who is considered a symbol of tyranny in Islamic and Biblical traditions and who met his end by drowning in the Red Sea. Similarly, he mentioned Nimrod, who met his end because of a simple mosquito—he used this example to show that even the proud king of a huge empire can be defeated by something trivial.
This statement of Khamenei holds great significance amid the ongoing protests in Iran. He alleged that the protesters were trying to please the US President by damaging their own roads and properties. Khamenei advised Trump that he should focus on the internal situation of his country instead of interfering in the affairs of others. Meanwhile, Iran’s judiciary chief has also warned in a stern tone that maximum and harsh action will be taken against the protesters without any legal concessions. On the other hand, Iran’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has also become active amid this turmoil. Reza Pahlavi, son of the Shah who was ousted in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, has supported the protesters and appealed to the international community to support the Iranian people instead of the current regime. He called on people to continue peaceful resistance despite internet restrictions. Raza Pahlavi has called these demonstrations not the initiative of any one leader, but the call of the people arising from decades of oppression and economic misery. Currently tension in Iran is at its peak. The number of deaths due to security forces is continuously increasing, about which international human rights organizations and the US administration have expressed concern. While Trump has expressed support for the protesters, the Iranian leadership is calling it a foreign conspiracy. Overall, the public anger within Iran and diplomatic threats from outside have created a new and serious crisis in the politics of the Middle East.
