The prayer leader in Iran and the believers call for the execution of the demonstrators, a red line for Trump

Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami’s sermon, broadcast on Iranian state radio, sparked chants among those gathered for prayer, including: “Armed hypocrites must be killed!” The executions, as well as the killings of peaceful protesters, are two of Trump’s red lines for possible military action against Iran over the protests, which began on December 28 over Iran’s faltering economy and quickly turned into protests that directly challenge the country’s theocracy.

He watches: Trump threatens to intervene in Iran if the regime continues to kill protesters

Iranian authorities cut off internet access on January 8 and intensified a bloody crackdown on all dissent, which the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported has left at least 2,677 people dead.

Khatami, who was appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a member of the Assembly of Experts and the Guardian Council, described the protesters as “servants” of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and “Trump’s soldiers.” He insisted that their plans “envision the dismantling of the country.”

Khatami said of Netanyahu and Trump: “They must wait for harsh revenge from the regime.” “Americans and Zionists should not expect peace.”

Read more: What do you know about the intense protests that are shaking Iran and putting pressure on its religious rule?

Khatami has long been known for his hard-line views in Iran, including in 2007, when he said the fatwa calling for the killing of writer Salman Rushdie was still in effect. He also threatened Israel in a 2018 speech by saying that Iran could “raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground” with its missile arsenal.

His fiery speech came as both Iran’s allies and the United States sought to defuse tensions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on Friday with both Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Israeli President Netanyahu.

“The situation in the region is very tense, and the president is continuing his efforts to help stop the escalation,” Peskov said.

Trade accusations between the United States and Iran

Days after Trump pledged that “help is on the way” to protesters, the demonstrations and the prospect of imminent US retaliation appear to have subsided. One diplomat told The Associated Press that senior officials from Egypt, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar expressed concerns with Trump that U.S. military intervention would shake the global economy and destabilize an already turbulent region.

However, the Trump administration has warned that it will act if Iran executes detained protesters. Iran and the United States exchanged angry accusations on Thursday at a UN Security Council session, with US Ambassador Mike Waltz saying that Trump “made clear that all options are on the table to stop the massacre.”

Read more: Iran indicates it will carry out swift trials and executions of protesters

Gholamhossein Darzi, Iran’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, criticized the United States for what he described as “direct American involvement in turning unrest in Iran into violence.”

Iranian authorities list damage caused by protests

Khatami, a hardline cleric, also provided the first comprehensive statistics on damage from the protests, claiming that 350 mosques, 126 prayer halls and 20 other holy sites had been damaged. Another 80 homes of Friday prayer imams – an important site within Iran’s clerical system – were also damaged, likely underscoring the anger protesters felt towards government figures.

He added that 400 hospitals, 106 ambulances, 71 fire engines and 50 other emergency vehicles were damaged.

As a cleric in public office, Khatami would have access to such data from the authorities, and mentioning it at Friday prayers likely means that the Iranian government wants to communicate the information without having to formally address the public.

He watches: Protests in Iran have subsided after the government’s brutal crackdown, an activist says

Even as protests inside Iran were suppressed, thousands of exiled Iranians and their supporters took to the streets in cities across Europe to express their anger at the Islamic Republic’s government.

After more than a week of nationwide internet shutdowns, some Iranians crossed the border to communicate with the outside world. A border crossing with Iran in Van province, eastern Turkey, did not witness a large influx of Iranians fleeing the unrest, but a number of Iranians crossing the border on Friday said they were making short trips to the neighboring country to circumvent the communications outage.

One traveler, who gave only his first name, Mehdi, for security reasons said: “I will return to Iran after they open the Internet.”

The death toll of at least 2,677, given by the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, exceeds the death toll in any other round of protests or unrest in Iran in decades, and brings to mind the chaos that surrounded the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The agency was meticulous throughout the years of demonstrations, relying on a network of activists inside Iran to confirm all reported deaths.

The Associated Press could not independently confirm the group’s tally. The Iranian government did not provide casualty figures.