Iran under the illusion of foreign sedition, when the government covers up the truth of repression

Ali Khamenei blamed the United States and protesters for the unrest inside Iran, but ignored the thousands of deaths and the role of government agents.

In his recent official speech, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while making an unprecedented and direct accusation against the US President, claimed that Washington was directly involved in the recent protests in Iran, calling it an “American sedition.” He said, “I categorically state that America’s goal in the recent sedition was to swallow Iran.” He also added that Washington’s policy in all successive administrations has been to dominate the independent state of Iran, a claim that is baseless and repeats Tehran’s official narrative.

Khamenei called Donald Trump a criminal, not just because of the sanctions, but also because of the "slander, damages, and casualties" of the protests, a claim that can be interpreted and criticized by independent media and human rights analyses.

Not only did he not deny the government's role in the massacre of protesters, but he also attempted to frame the protesters as responsible for the deaths of several thousand people and accuse them of having ties to "America and Israel," a claim that is still unsubstantiated and cannot be independently verified.

Khamenei also said, "We do not intend to lead the country to war, but we will not spare domestic criminals either," a stance that both threatens and justifies domestic repression.

Contrary to what Iranian officials say, independent data shows a different picture:

• Human rights groups have reported that the death toll from the protests may have reached several thousand, something even Khamenei indirectly acknowledged.
• Independent sources have estimated the death toll at well over 15,000, and emphasize that these numbers could be much higher, as the internet shutdown and suppression of information make it impossible to confirm very accurate statistics.
• Human rights reports also indicate thousands of arrests, torture, and threats of execution, including cases of people who have been sentenced to death and whose executions are still unclear.

In contrast, the US government under Trump's leadership has repeatedly admitted that it does not have accurate information about the extent of the violence, but has warned of continued repression and announced a halt to the execution of protesters, which has itself been met with a reaction from Iranian judicial officials.

In recent days, Trump has repeatedly said he will respond forcefully if the crackdown continues. He says more than 800 executions have been canceled (although Iran has denied this claim). However, the threat of an explicit military presence has not materialized, and he has been playing diplomatically.

In response to these threats, Iran has not only repeated accusations against the United States and Israel, but has also warned that any attack will be met with a "severe response," a threat that could bring the region to the brink of a widespread military crisis.

In his speech, Khamenei took a stand against the United States, but at the same time denied or downplayed the role of Iranian security forces in the massacre of protesters. This type of narrative is known as “reconstruction of reality for legitimacy,” when the government tries to attribute the real responsibility for repression and violence to external factors or the protesting people themselves, rather than to the power structure.

Creating the image of “American sedition” effectively distances domestic popular protests from legitimate demands and reduces them to foreign political projects. This tactic has been seen many times in the official literature of the Islamic Republic in the past.

The accusation that Trump “encouraged the troublemakers” or that “America wants to swallow Iran” is merely a repetition of government propaganda narratives, not an analysis based on documented evidence. Although there was media and political interference by the United States during the protests, to consider these protests solely the product of a foreign conspiracy is not consistent with the facts on the ground and independent reports.

The Iranian leader's admission that thousands of people died in the protests is a tacit admission of the severity of the repression; but while he does not accept responsibility for it directly, he tries to attribute it to "rioters" and "foreign enemies."

This speech and international reactions show that the Iranian crisis has now, more than ever, become a clash of narratives, abdication of responsibility, and propaganda power games, where the truth on the ground (those killed, repression, arrests) has become entangled in media and political games.

If we were to summarize this situation in one sentence: "In the midst of popular protests, instead of being held accountable for the repression, the Iranian government is trying to hide the bitter domestic reality behind foreign accusations by repeating unsubstantiated claims against the United States and the protesters."