Iran holds Trump responsible for 'casualties, damages and slander', supreme leader says
The Ayatollah previously dubbed protesters as "foreign terrorists" acting on behalf of President Trump
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has hit out at Donald Trump saying US President Donald Trump is responsible for casualties amongst Iran's brutal repression.
Listen to this article
The supreme leader, aged 86, said Mr Trump is responsible for the "casualties, damages and slander he has levelled against the Iranian nation" during protests.
This comes as the harsh repression that has left several thousand people dead appears to have succeeded in stifling the demonstrations in Iran, which began on December 28 over the ailing economy and soon morphed into protests directly challenging the country's theocracy.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency on Friday put the death toll, which continues to rise, at 2,797.
The Ayatollah previously dubbed the protestors as "foreign terrorists" acting on behalf of Mr Trump.
Read More: Several officers injured at Iranian embassy demonstration
Days after US President Donald Trump pledged "help is on its way" for the protesters, both the demonstrations and the prospect of imminent US retaliation appeared to have receded.
One diplomat told the Associated Press that top officials from Egypt, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar had raised concerns with Mr Trump that a US military intervention would shake the global economy and destabilise an already volatile region.
Yet the Trump administration has warned it will act if Iran executes detained protesters.
Iran and the US traded angry accusations on Thursday at a session of the United Nations Security Council, with US ambassador Mike Waltz saying that Mr Trump "has made it clear that all options are on the table to stop the slaughter".
Meanwhile, several protesters have been arrested, and a number of police officers left injured, following an anti-government demonstration outside the Iranian Embassy in London.
One protester climbed across multiple balconies onto the roof of the embassy in South Kensington where they removed a flag, the Metropolitan Police said on Friday night.
He has since been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, trespass on diplomatic property and assaulting police.
Several others were arrested on suspicion of violent disorder.
A section 35 order has been imposed as a result of ongoing disorder, including missiles being thrown at officers, the force added.