Iran's Khamenei says authorities 'must break the back of the seditionists'Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Photo: CollectedPARIS, France, Jan 17, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah AliKhamenei on Saturday said authorities "must break the back of theseditionists" and blamed US President Donald Trump for "casualties" after acrackdown on a protest wave against the country's clerical authorities. "By God's grace, the Iranian nation must break the back of the seditionistsjust as it broke the back of the sedition." Iranian authorities have blamed the United States for the mass demonstrationsthey have called "riots" and "terrorist" operations. "This was an American conspiracy," he said, adding that "America's goal is toswallow Iran... the goal is to put Iran back under military, political andeconomic domination".

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha January 17, 2026 18:53 UTC