By Gloria Ogbonna
Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, a senior figure within Iran’s ruling theocracy and a powerful voice of its hardline establishment, on Friday openly called for the execution of anti-government protesters while issuing explicit threats toward U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Khatami, a close ally of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, occupies some of the most influential positions in Iran’s political and religious hierarchy—roles he holds by direct appointment from Khamenei himself.
He serves on the Assembly of Experts, the elite 88-member clerical body responsible for selecting and overseeing the Supreme Leader, as well as on the Guardian Council, the powerful 12-member panel that vets all political candidates and effectively controls who may participate in Iran’s tightly managed elections.
In addition to these posts, Khatami holds the prestigious and highly visible role of leading Friday prayers in Tehran, a platform often used by regime loyalists to deliver ideological messaging to the public.
During his sermon on Friday—broadcast nationwide by Iranian state media—Khatami unleashed a fiery and uncompromising speech that included demands for the death penalty against demonstrators who have taken to the streets in recent weeks.
“Any threat against the Supreme Leader is waging war on God, which carries a death sentence,” Khatami declared, invoking one of the regime’s most severe religious justifications for capital punishment.
He went on to deride protesters as foreign agents, dismissing them as Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s “butlers” and U.S. President Trump’s “soldiers.”
According to Khatami, the widespread unrest gripping the country is not an expression of domestic anger over economic hardship or political repression, but rather part of a coordinated Israeli-American conspiracy aimed at “disintegrating” Iran from within.
“They should wait for hard revenge from the system,” Khatami warned. “Americans and Zionists should not expect peace,” he added, in a direct threat aimed at both Washington and Jerusalem.
In an apparent attempt to justify the regime’s violent response, Khatami claimed that protesters had caused extensive damage to religious and public infrastructure. He alleged that approximately 350 mosques, 126 prayer halls, 80 homes belonging to prayer leaders, and at least 20 other so-called “holy sites” were vandalized during the unrest.
He further complained of damage to hundreds of medical and emergency facilities, including 400 hospitals, 106 ambulances, 71 fire department vehicles, and 50 additional emergency-response units.
According to reports, the crowd of worshipers attending Khatami’s prayer service responded enthusiastically to his remarks, chanting slogans such as, “Armed hypocrites should be put to death!” a phrase commonly used by the regime to label political opponents and dissidents.
Khatami’s remarks echo a broader narrative pushed by Iranian authorities since nationwide protests erupted in December following the sharp collapse of the Iranian currency and worsening economic conditions.
Senior regime officials have repeatedly dismissed the demonstrations as a foreign-backed plot orchestrated by the United States and Israel, routinely branding protesters as “terrorists” or covert operatives rather than acknowledging widespread public discontent.
The regime has responded with a sweeping and brutal crackdown that reportedly left thousands dead over the course of the week. While the protests appear to have been largely suppressed for now, reports of continued unrest persist.
Reuters cited unverified accounts of a nurse killed by security forces, rioters setting fire to an education office, and sporadic protests continuing in several cities and towns as recently as Thursday.
Though the immediate wave of demonstrations may have subsided, Khatami’s rhetoric underscores the Iranian leadership’s reliance on intimidation, religious absolutism, and external scapegoats to maintain control signaling that dissent, even in times of economic collapse, will be met with uncompromising force.
Source Breitbart
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