New Delhi, Jan. 10 -- Amid large-scale protests in Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei alleged that the demonstrators were acting to please US President Donald Trump. He reportedly dismissed Trump as having hands "stained with the blood of Iranians".

Meanwhile, state media referred to the demonstrators as "terrorists," setting the stage for a violent crackdown as in other protests in recent years, despite Trump's pledge to back peaceful protesters with force if necessary.

Trump has repeatedly pledged to strike Iran if protesters are killed. The president suggested Friday any possible American strike wouldn't "mean boots on the ground, but that means hitting them very, very hard where it hurts."

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamene...