Shafaq News– Washington

The United States on Saturday accused Iran of using fighters from Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iraqi armed groups to suppress ongoing protests, warning that such actions would constitute a “profound betrayal” of the Iranian people.

In a statement written in Persian, the US State Department flagged reports that Tehran deployed “terrorist proxy forces” against demonstrators, alleging that the country has spent “billions of dollars belonging to the Iranian people” on these groups.

In a separate statement, Washington rejected remarks by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who confirmed that protesters had destroyed a building belonging to their own country to “please” US President Donald Trump. “What may truly trouble him [Khamenei] is that the Iranian people have realized 47 years of lies and the regime’s complete failure.”

Iranian authorities, Hezbollah, and the Iraqi armed groups have not issued public responses to the allegations.

The protests erupted on December 28 at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar after the rial had slid to about 1.45 million to the dollar, while inflation —estimated at roughly 52 percent— deepened economic pressure. The unrest unfolded against the backdrop of long-standing sanctions and the aftermath of a 12-day war in June 2025 involving Israel and the United States that targeted Iranian nuclear facilities.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency documented at least 51 deaths and more than 2,200 detentions as protests spread to over 300 locations nationwide. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian urged security forces to avoid the use of force and instructed state institutions to open channels of dialogue, while reaffirming citizens’ right to peaceful expression.

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