In a significant address marking the 47th anniversary of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s return from exile, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei characterized recent nationwide protests as resembling an attempted coup against the Islamic Republic. Speaking on Sunday, Khamenei detailed what he described as coordinated attacks on state institutions, including police facilities, government centers, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps bases, financial institutions, and mosques, with particular emphasis on Quran desecration incidents.
The Supreme Leader’s remarks came amid escalating tensions with the United States, following Washington’s deployment of military assets to the region. Khamenei issued a stark warning that any American-initiated conflict would inevitably expand into a regional confrontation, while simultaneously accusing the U.S. of seeking to reestablish its historical dominance over Iran’s resources and political system.
Official Iranian sources acknowledge approximately 3,000 fatalities during the unrest but maintain that security personnel and civilian bystanders constituted the majority of casualties, attributing the violence to externally orchestrated terrorist operations. This stands in sharp contrast to documentation from the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), which has verified 6,713 deaths predominantly among demonstrators.
The protests initially emerged as economic demonstrations against rising living costs but rapidly evolved into a broad-based anti-government movement. Iranian authorities have consistently attributed the escalation to foreign interference, specifically pointing to the United States and Israel as instigators of what they term organized riots.
Khamenei’s historical contextualization referenced the 1979 Islamic Revolution that overthrew the U.S.-backed Pahlavi monarchy, framing current tensions as a continuation of resistance against American hegemony. He asserted that while such seditious events have occurred previously and may recur, the state possesses both the capability and determination to suppress them effectively.