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3. Khamenei Says "Arrogant" Trump Will be "Overthrown"

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday insisted that the Islamic republic would "not back down" in the face of protesters who he called "vandals" and "saboteurs", in a speech broadcast on state TV.

Speaking to supporters in his first comments on the escalating protests since January 3, Khamenei said U.S. President Donald Trump's hands "are stained with the blood of more than a thousand Iranians" and predicted the "arrogant" U.S. leader would be "overthrown" like the imperial dynasty that ruled Iran up to the 1979 revolution.

Khamenei also accused protesters of "ruining their own streets to make the president of another country happy" in reference to President Trump, as demonstrations continued into Friday despite a nationwide internet and telephone blackout.

The 86-year-old leader of the regime in Tehran signalled authorities would crack down on demonstrators during a brief televised address, as an audience shouted "Death to America".