As Khamenei ramps up rhetoric, accusing Trump of 'incitement, destruction,' U.S. warns Tehran against escalation

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday alleged U.S. President Donald Trump was responsible for the slaughter of protesters in Iran, saying "We see the president of the United States as a criminal, because of the deaths, destruction and incitement he has committed against the Iranian nation.” 

“We do not intend to lead the country to war, but we will not spare domestic criminals… worse than domestic criminals, international criminals, we will not spare them either,” the leader told supporters during an address. 

 “By God’s grace, the Iranian nation must break the back of the seditionists just as it broke the back of the sedition,” he added. 

The speech comes after Trump has toned down his rhetoric regarding the likelihood of a U.S. intervention to help protesters, thanking the Iranian regime for "the cancellation of all scheduled hangings, over 800 of them."

"Nobody convinced me. I convinced myself. You had yesterday scheduled over 800 hangings. They didn't hang anyone. They canceled the hangings. That had a big impact," Trump told reporters on the White House lawn, shooting down a suggestion by a reporter that he called off the attack at the urgings of Arab and Israeli leaders. 

At the same time, reports swirled that Iran could initiate aggressions against U.S. assets and bases in the region, promoting the State Department's Persian-language account on X post the following message: 

"We have heard reports that the Islamic Republic is preparing options to target American bases. As President Trump has repeatedly emphasized, all options remain on the table, and if the Islamic Republic regime attacks American assets, the Islamic Republic will be 'met with a very, very powerful force.' We have said it before and we will say it again, do not play games with President Trump."