President Donald Trump has called for an end to the regime in Iran, further fueling speculation about possible U.S. intervention.
“It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran,” Trump said.
It wasn’t clear what Trump — who has alternately threatened military action and backed off, while calling for protesters to overthrow the regime — meant by his latest remarks.
Trump made the comments in an interview with POLITICO published Saturday after he was read a series of tweets about him from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s account blaming Trump for the unrest.
Trump went on to call Khamenei responsible for “the complete destruction of the country and the use of violence at levels never seen before” and said he “should focus on running his country properly, like I do with the United States, and not killing people by the thousands in order to keep control.”
Added Trump: “Leadership is about respect, not fear and death.”
Since protests broke out across Iran, Trump and members of his administration have said U.S. military intervention is an option on the table. On Thursday, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against several members of Iran’s security apparatus.
Trump previously warned of “very strong action” against Iran if it hanged protesters, but toned down those remarks after he said the executions had stopped.
Erfan Soltani, 26, was set to be executed by Iranian authorities outside Tehran on Jan. 8, but the Norway-based Hengaw Organization for Human Rights announced that it was postponed. The protests have since dwarfed in size.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said Wednesday that more than 2,400 protesters had been killed so far, including a dozen children, and more than 18,000 people have been arrested. MS NOW has not verified these figures.
The widespread unrest has been fueled by Iran’s worsening economic crisis and anger toward the country’s authoritarian leadership. Shopkeepers in Tehran took to the streets in protest after the rial, Iran’s national currency, fell to a record low in December. Sanctions on Iran’s oil sector have further strained an already struggling economy.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW, with a focus on how global events and foreign policy shape U.S. politics. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.