Top Iran prayer leader who dubbed protesters 'Trump's soldiers' calls for executions amid ongoing unrest

An Iranian cleric has called for the decease punishment for protesters detained during a nationwide crackdown amid ongoing unrest against the Islamic regime. 

The cleric's calls travel President Donald Trump's threats of U.S. involution if protesters were met with violence.

Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami’s sermon, which was broadcast by Iranian authorities radio, reportedly sparked chants from those gathered for prayers. The Associated Press reported that the chants included, "Armed hypocrites should beryllium enactment to death!"

During his sermon, Khatami gave the archetypal wide statistic of the harm from the protests, which began successful precocious December, according to the AP. This accusation provides a look astatine the standard of the protests aft the authorities instituted a nationwide net blackout connected Jan. 8.

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Iranian elder cleric Ahmad Khatami delivers his sermon during Friday supplication ceremonial successful Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 5, 2018. (Ebrahim Noroozi, File/AP Photo)

The cleric claimed 350 mosques, 126 supplication halls and 20 different beatified places had sustained damage, the AP reported. Khatami besides claimed that 400 hospitals, 106 ambulances, 71 occurrence section vehicles and different 50 exigency vehicles sustained damage.

Another 80 homes of Friday supplication leaders had besides reportedly been damaged, the AP reported, adding that it could beryllium a motion of demonstrators taking retired their frustrations against the authorities arsenic the leaders clasp an important presumption wrong Iran's theocracy.

"They privation you to retreat from religion," Khatami said, according to the AP. "They planned these crimes from a agelong clip ago."

In this framework drawback from video obtained by the AP, a masked demonstrator holds a representation of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protestation successful Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

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Khatami, who was appointed by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and serves connected the country’s Assembly of Experts and Guardian Council, had antecedently spoken retired against protesters. He described them arsenic being "butlers" of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and "Trump's soldiers."

Khamenei made akin remarks, saying that the protesters were "ruining their ain streets to marque the president of different state happy," referring to Trump.

Iranians be an anti-government protestation successful Tehran, Iran, connected Jan. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

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Trump has been vocal successful his enactment for the Iranian radical and said aboriginal connected that the U.S. was "locked and loaded" and acceptable to intervene if the authorities utilized unit against protesters. It is unclear if and erstwhile the U.S. volition instrumentality factual enactment successful Iran, but speculation has circulated pursuing the bombing of the country's atomic sites successful 2025 and the U.S. seizure of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.

Fox News Digital reached retired to the White House and the State Department for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.