Kathmandu. U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday lashed out at Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying the time has come to find “new leadership” in the Islamic Republic.

Trump’s remarks came amid rising inflation, a deepening economic crisis and growing anger at the regime’s rhetoric.

In an interview with Politico, Trump accused Tehran’s leadership of using violence and repression to maintain power.

“As the leader of this country, he is responsible for the near-total destruction of his country and the use of violence at a level never seen in history,” Trump said, according to Politico. It is not necessary to kill thousands of innocent people to maintain control. ”

According to President Trump, true leadership is built not on fear and death, but on honor. He personally criticized Khamenei, calling him “a sick man”. “Iran is one of the worst places to live in the world because of its weak leadership,” he said. “He needs to run his country better and stop killing his own people,” Trump said.

Trump’s remarks came after Iranian leader Khamenei blamed the United States for the unrest and casualties in a series of posts on X. Khamenei accused the US president of supporting violent groups by misrepresenting the real will of the Iranian people.

“The US president has portrayed groups that carry out sabotage, arson and murder as ‘the Iranian state’. He denounced the Iranian people. We blame the US president for this disgrace,” Khamenei wrote.

“The US president conveyed his support to the traitors and provide them military support,” he said. In other words, the president of the United States himself is involved in treason. These are criminal acts. ”

Such statements between Trump and Khamenei further highlight the escalating rhetoric between Washington and Tehran. Analysts say it also highlights the political instability inside Iran and the deepening divisions within the regime.

Meanwhile, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), the nationwide protests in Iran have entered the 21st day. Internet blackouts continue across the country and security agencies are conducting a crackdown on the internet.

A total of 3,308 people have been killed in the protests, and 4,382 more cases are under investigation, according to HRANA reports. So far, 2,107 people have been seriously injured and at least 24,266 people have been arrested, officials said.

It was in this context that Khamenei publicly acknowledged for the first time that “thousands of people” had died during the unrest.