Shafaq News– Baghdad

Dozens of supporters of Iraqi armed factions held a rally in Baghdad on Saturday in solidarity with Iran, as protests continue across the Islamic Republic.

Shafaq News footage showed demonstrators gathering on Palestine Street near the Popular Mobilization Forces’ (PMF) media directorate, waving faction flags, and holding portraits of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Protesters also displayed images of US President Donald Trump alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu marked with an “X,” signaling rejection.

The rally followed remarks earlier today by Khamenei, who blamed Trump for casualties during the protests in Iran. In a speech, Khamenei accused the US president of responsibility for what he described as human and material losses.

Protests erupted in Iran on December 28 over economic grievances and later expanded into broader demonstrations calling for an end to clerical rule. Rights group HRANA said more than 3,000 people have been killed since the unrest began, though the figures could not be independently verified due to restrictions on reporting.

Read more: Iran’s protests between economic crisis and political contestation

Iranian officials have repeatedly accused the United States and Israel of seeking to destabilize the country, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi asserting that protests began peacefully and within constitutional bounds before turning violent following the “infiltration of armed groups.”