Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday that “rioters must be put in their place” following a week of protests across the country that have resulted in at least 10 deaths. His remarks are seen as a strong signal allowing security forces to take tougher action against demonstrators.

The 86-year-old leader made his first public comments since the protests began, as unrest linked to Iran’s worsening economic situation continues to spread. The demonstrations were initially triggered by the sharp fall in the value of Iran’s currency, the rial, and have now grown into broader expressions of anger against the country’s ruling system.

Speaking in Tehran, Khamenei tried to draw a clear line between ordinary protesters and what he called “rioters.” He said, “We talk to protesters, the officials must talk to them. But there is no benefit to talking to rioters. Rioters must be put in their place.”

The protests have shown no signs of slowing down. They come at a time of heightened tensions after U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran on Friday that if Tehran “violently kills peaceful protesters,” the United States “will come to their rescue.”

While it remains unclear whether or how the U.S. would intervene, Trump’s remarks led to an immediate and angry reaction from Iranian officials. Leaders within Iran’s theocratic system threatened to target American troops stationed in the Middle East. The situation became more serious after Trump said on Saturday that the U.S. military had captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a close ally of Iran.

According to reports, the current unrest marks the largest wave of protests in Iran since 2022. That year, nationwide demonstrations broke out after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died while in police custody after being detained for not wearing her hijab in a way authorities approved. While the present protests have not reached the same scale or intensity as those in 2022, they are still widespread and significant.

Khamenei repeated a long-standing claim by Iranian officials that foreign powers were behind the unrest. Without providing evidence, he accused countries such as the United States and Israel of encouraging the protests and blamed them for Iran’s economic collapse.

“A bunch of people incited or hired by the enemy are getting behind the tradesmen and shopkeepers and chanting slogans against Islam, Iran and the Islamic Republic,” he said. “This is what matters most.”

Violence related to the protests intensified overnight into Saturday, leading to two additional deaths. In the city of Qom, which is home to Iran’s major Shiite religious seminaries, a grenade explosion killed a man. The state-owned newspaper IRAN reported that security officials claimed the man was carrying the grenade with the intention of attacking people in the city, which is about 130 kilometres (80 miles) south of Tehran.

Videos shared online from Qom appeared to show fires burning in the streets overnight.

The second death occurred in the town of Harsin, located around 370 kilometres (230 miles) southwest of Tehran, in Kermanshah province. According to the same newspaper, a member of the Basij — a volunteer force under Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard — was killed during a gun and knife attack.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported that demonstrations have taken place in more than 100 locations across 22 of Iran’s 31 provinces.

Iran’s civilian government, led by reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, has tried to show that it is willing to engage with protesters. However, Pezeshkian has admitted that there is little he can do to stop the rapid fall of the rial, which sparked the protests in the first place.

Although the protests began over economic concerns, many demonstrators have also been chanting slogans against Iran’s theocratic leadership.

Iran has struggled to stabilise its economy in the months following its June war with Israel, during which the United States also carried out airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites. In a recent move aimed at easing tensions with the West, Iran announced that it was no longer enriching uranium at any location in the country.

This announcement was seen as an effort to signal openness to possible negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for relief from sanctions. However, such talks have not yet begun, as both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have warned Iran against restarting its nuclear activities.