Main killer: Iran security chief blasts Trump after he backs protesters amid unrest

As US President Donald Trump cancelled meetings with Iranian officials over the deaths of protesters, Iran’s national security chief Ali Larijani called Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the "main killers of the people of Iran" amid the country’s spiralling protests, which have killed at least 2,000 people.

Hours after Trump urged Iranians to "take over" government institutions, Ali Larijani, a former parliament speaker who now serves as Secretary of Iran’s Supreme Security Council, issued a blunt message on X.

"We declare the names of the main killers of the people of Iran," Larijani wrote. "1- Trump. 2- Netanyahu."

Larijani accused Washington and Tel Aviv of fuelling unrest that has claimed thousands of lives, as Iranian authorities intensify their crackdown on demonstrators angered by economic collapse and political repression. According to the US-based human rights group HRANA, nearly 2,000 people have been killed out of which around 1,850 of the deaths were protesters. The organisation also said that over 16,700 people have been detained.

US ISSUES WARNING OVER PROTESTER EXECUTIONS

Trump said the US would take "very strong action" if the Iranian government starts hanging 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.

The US President earlier said he had cancelled all meetings with Iranian officials until what he called the senseless killing of protestors STOP. In a Truth Social post, he encouraged Iranians to keep protesting, adding that "help is on its way," without offering details.

However, he did not offer any details about what the help would entail, but it comes after Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic.

The confrontation also follows Trump’s claim over the weekend that Iran had reached out to negotiate and that a meeting was being arranged — a statement that has not been publicly confirmed by Tehran.

Iranian state television later issued its first acknowledgement of the deaths, quoting an official who said the country had "a lot of martyrs." The official claimed no earlier toll was released because many bodies bore severe injuries.

The protests, now in their third week, erupted over Iran’s worsening economy and quickly turned into a direct challenge to the theocratic regime.

- Ends

With inputs from agencies

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