Iranian protestors demonstrating against the theocratic regime will face harsh punishment with absolutely zero leniency, Iran’s top judge has warned — as footage emerged Friday of mosques burning on the streets of Tehran amid the ongoing riots.
Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the head of Iran’s judiciary, issued the stark warning after President Trump vowed to back those peacefully demonstrating across the country.
Signaling a potentially violent crackdown, Ejei vowed the punishment for rioters would “be decisive, maximum and without any legal leniency.”
The remarks, which were made earlier in the week and broadcast on state TV on Friday, came as Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemned Trump’s support for the protesters — claiming the president’s hands were now “stained with the blood of Iranians.”
“Iranians must maintain their unity,” Khamenei said in televised remarks as an audience chanted “Death to America!”
Protesters are “ruining their own streets … in order to please the president of the United States,” he added.
“Because he said that he would come to their aid. He should pay attention to the state of his own country instead.”
There was no immediate response from Trump or Washington regarding the latest threats from Iran.
Despite Iran cutting off internet and phone lines in recent days, footage emerged online early Friday of a burning mosque in Tehran as anti-government protestors took to the streets overnight.
Multiple burnt out cars and debris could be seen strewn across the street outside the mosque.
The protests, which broke out Dec. 28, began over Iran’s ailing economy but have since morphed into the most significant challenge to the government in years.
They dramatically escalated overnight after the country’s exiled crown prince, Reza Pahlavi —whose terminally ill father fled Iran just before the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution — called for mass demonstrations, which resulted in internet access and telephone lines being cut immediately.
“Great nation of Iran, the eyes of the world are upon you. Take to the streets and, as a united front, shout your demands,” Pahlavi said.
At least 50 people have been killed so far as the protests continue, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
More than 2,270 others are said to have been detained.
With Post wires
