Iran’s Khamenei says recent anti-government protests are tantamount to ‘coup’

Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khameneisaid Sunday (February 1, 2026). Anti-government protests Murders and acts of vandalism are tantamount to “insurgency”.

“They are [rioters] Police, government centers, IRGC centers, banks and mosques were attacked and Qurans were burnt. It was like a coup,” Mr. Khamenei said, adding that “the coup was crushed.”

“The recent treason is not the first treason in Tehran, it will not be the last treason, and such incidents may be repeated in the future,” he said.

The response of the authorities to the protest was encouraging US President Donald Trump threatens military intervention Deploying an aircraft carrier group to Middle Eastern waters.

The America had attacked nuclear facilities During its ally Israel’s 12-day war against Iran in June, it moved quickly to declare a ceasefire. Mr Khamenei warned on Sunday (February 1, 2026): “If the Americans start a war, this time it will be a regional war.”

He was speaking on the 47th anniversary of the return from exile of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who founded the Islamic Republic in 1979 and toppled the US-backed Pahlavi dynasty. Mr Khamenei accused the US of wanting to “swallow Iran” and return to the days of the monarchy.

“They want to take over this country like they’ve taken over this country for 30 years. They had the resources, they had the oil, they had the politics,” he said. “Their hands have been cut off. They want to return to the same situation as the Pahlavi era.”

Recent demonstrations in Iran began as an expression of discontent over the high cost of living, but grew into a mass anti-government movement that the country’s leaders described as “riots” incited by the United States and Israel.

Tehran has acknowledged more than 3,000 deaths during the protestsbut insists that most are members of the security forces and innocent bystanders, accusing the violence of being “acts of terrorism”.

However, based in the US Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) which confirmed 6,713 deaths, mostly protesters.