US President Donald Trump has demanded the end of the 37-year-old rule of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He said that new leadership is needed in Iran. Trump claimed that because of Khamenei, Iran has become the worst place in the world. He has accused Iran’s leadership of using unprecedented violence.

Iran’s leadership rested on repression and violence

On January 17, 2026, Trump said this in an interview given to a news channel. This statement comes after weeks of protests in Iran, where large-scale protests are taking place against the Islamic Republic. Trump said, ‘It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran’ i.e. new leadership is needed in Iran. He described Khamenei as a ‘sick person’ and said that Iran’s leadership is based on repression and violence. He accused Khamenei of ‘completely destroying’ the country and said it was wrong to maintain control by killing thousands of people.

Trump said, ‘Khamenei’s best decision so far was that more than 800 people were not hanged two days ago. The leadership should focus on running the country properly, like I run America, and not on maintaining control by killing thousands of people. Leadership means respect, not fear and death.

The statement came at a time when security forces in Iran cracked down on protesters and at least 3,428 people died. Trump had earlier warned that the US would intervene militarily if Iran killed protesters. He told the protesters that ‘help is on the way’, but no such intervention took place.

The backs of the protesters will be broken

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded to US President Donald Trump’s statements. He called the protesters ‘traitors’ and said that their backs would be broken. Khamenei held Trump responsible for these deaths and damage. He said, ‘We do not want to take the country towards war, but we will not spare domestic criminals.’ He also talked about punishing ‘international criminals’.

America responsible for protests in Iran

The Iranian government has described these protests as ‘terrorist activities’ and ‘riots’. He called it an American conspiracy, whose aim is to occupy Iran militarily, politically and economically. Exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi appealed to Iranians to speak out with ‘anger and demonstration’. He said that Trump will stand with the Iranian people. Pahlavi said that he wants a transition towards secular democracy and will choose the next system through referendum. Many protesters chanted his name, as his father fled the 1979 Islamic Revolution.