Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei went on a social media tirade against President Donald Trump on Tuesday, calling him "psychotic" and blaming the United States for instigating a week of violent protests in the nuclear nation.
In Twitter posts and on his website, the country's supreme leader mocked Trump's assertion that "the Iranian government is afraid of U.S. power," the New York Times reported.
"So, if we are 'afraid' of you, how did we expel you from Iran in the late 1970s and expel you from the entire region in the 2010s?" he said.
He also threatened revenge for demonstrations that've hurt Iran's establishment.
"They damaged us during these days, they know there will be some sort of retaliation," he said, the Times reported. "This man who sits at the head of the White House — although, he seems to be a very unstable man — he must realize that these extreme and psychotic episodes won't be left without a response."
According to the Times, protests have erupted in more than 80 cities in Iran — first over economic concerns but later becoming more critical of Iran's clerical establishment — and 21 people have died. The Times reported a Parliament member said Tuesday 3,700 had been arrested, with some allegedly suffering ill treatment.
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