According to Khabaronline, an Iranian news agency, Addressing the crowd, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei elaborated on what he described as the dimensions of the recent “sedition” and the position of the Islamic Republic vis-à-vis those who designed and encouraged what he labeled an “American plot.” He praised the nationwide rallies of January 12 as a “historic day,” noting that the Iranian nation “broke the back of the sedition,” while stressing the importance of understanding its nature, objectives and both its “trained” and “manipulated” actors.
Referring to the unrest, which he said caused suffering for the public and inflicted damage on the country, the Supreme Leader stated that it was extinguished “by divine success and through the efforts of the people, the authorities and competent security forces.” Yet he argued that understanding its nature, objectives and components, and defining Iran’s course of action against its adversaries, remained essential.
Ayatollah Khamenei characterized the sedition as “American in nature,” claiming that the United States’ longstanding strategic objective—not limited to its current president—was to “devour Iran and reimpose its military, political and economic dominance,” because “a country of such territorial depth, population, capabilities and scientific progress in such a strategic geography is intolerable to them.”
He argued that while Western interference in previous episodes of unrest had largely been confined to journalists and secondary politicians, “the peculiarity of this recent sedition” was the direct involvement of the U.S. President, “who spoke, threatened, encouraged the rioters and even sent them messages, telling them to push forward and not be afraid, promising military support.”
The Supreme Leader condemned the U.S. President’s description of “vandals and killers as the Iranian nation,” labeling it a grave insult. He claimed that the United States and Israel provided support “behind the scenes” and added: “Therefore, we consider the U.S. President a criminal—both for the casualties and destruction, and for the slander he directed at the Iranian people.”
On the composition of the street actors, Ayatollah Khamenei asserted that the first group consisted of individuals “carefully selected by U.S. and Israeli intelligence services,” who received substantial funding and “training in movement tactics, arson, intimidation and evading the police.” Many of these “malignant and criminal agents,” he said, had been arrested by law enforcement and security forces.
He described the second group as teenagers and young people influenced by the first group. They “had no link to Israel or foreign intelligence services,” but were “naive individuals whose leaders manipulated them,” prompting them to engage in acts they would not otherwise commit.
“These were the foot soldiers,” he continued, whose mission was “to attack public places, homes, offices and industrial facilities.” He claimed that “ignorant and unaware actors,” under the leadership of “malignant and trained elements,” committed extensive crimes, including “the destruction of 250 mosques, over 250 educational and scientific centers, and damage to power infrastructure, banks, medical facilities and food distribution centers.” According to him, thousands were killed in these attacks on civilians.
He cited what he called “brutally inhumane acts,” including “trapping and burning alive several young people in a mosque” and “killing a three-year-old girl and defenseless men and women,” asserting that these acts were part of a preplanned operation. He claimed that both cold and hot weapons had been smuggled into the country and distributed among the rioters.
The Supreme Leader declared that “the Iranian nation broke the back of the sedition,” turning January 12 into a “historic day in the book of its many honors” and “silencing, with a powerful fist, the loud claims of the adversaries.”
He criticized foreign media for amplifying the presence of small groups of rioters while “denying or downplaying the massive crowds of the Iranian people” on January 12, calling it a habitual practice that “does not change reality,” which was witnessed across Tehran and other cities.
Ayatollah Khamenei framed what he called “America’s defeat at the hands of the Iranian nation” as part of a continuum, following what he described as U.S. and Israeli failure in the recent 12-day conflict. He argued that Washington had launched the sedition as a prelude to larger goals but insisted that “extinguishing the sedition is not sufficient” and that “America must be held accountable for its actions.”
He directed state institutions—including the Foreign Ministry—to pursue “America’s recent crimes,” insisting that Iran “will not drag the country into war, but will not abandon either domestic or international criminals.” Such pursuit, he said, must be carried out through proper legal and political mechanisms.
“With divine success, just as the Iranian nation broke the back of the sedition, it must also break the back of the seditionists,” he said.
In closing remarks, Ayatollah Khamenei praised the sacrifices of state officials, police, security services, the IRGC and the Basij, noting that “officials cooperated, and the people delivered the final verdict decisively through their unity.”
Urging national cohesion and discouraging factional disputes, he advised that political quarrels “should not spread among the people,” and that all should stand united in defense of the Islamic Republic.
He cautioned against uninformed criticism of senior officeholders, warning against “insulting the President or other officials” in sensitive domestic and international circumstances. He argued that those in positions of responsibility “stood alongside the people” during the crisis, unlike in earlier periods when some had stepped aside or even acted against popular sentiment.
Finally, he called for allowing the President and other heads of government branches to perform their duties, acknowledging the country’s “severe economic situation” and urging the government to work with heightened urgency in areas such as the provision of essential goods and livestock feed, and broader market supplies, expressing confidence that “if the people and officials fulfill their responsibilities correctly, God will bless their efforts.”