US President Donald Trump has saved Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei once before.
In June, after the 12-day war with Israel, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “Why would the so-called ‘Supreme Leader,’ Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, of the war torn Country of Iran, say so blatantly and foolishly that he won the War with Israel, when he knows his statement is a lie, it is not so. As a man of great faith, he is not supposed to lie. His Country was decimated, his three evil Nuclear Sites were OBLITERATED, and I knew EXACTLY where he was sheltered, and would not let Israel, or the US Armed Forces, by far the Greatest and Most Powerful in the World, terminate his life. I SAVED HIM FROM A VERY UGLY AND IGNOMINIOUS DEATH, and he does not have to say, ‘THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP!’”
The president then even claimed that Israeli fighter jets en route to Tehran were called back because of Trump’s orders.
“In fact, in the final act of the War, I demanded that Israel bring back a very large group of planes, which were heading directly to Tehran, looking for a big day, perhaps the final knockout! Tremendous damage would have ensued, and many Iranians would have been killed. It was going to be the biggest attack of the War, by far.”
These are the US president’s own words.
Now, more than six months on, and with Iran in the grip of a domestic crackdown on anti-regime protests that have left officially 5,000 people – with unconfirmed reports claiming as many as 16,000 people – dead, killed by the regime, Trump has seemingly let Khamenei off the hook once again.
Across Iran over the past few weeks, protesters have been filmed and pictured holding handwritten signs addressed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump, calling on them to come to the demonstrators’ aid. Streets are being renamed after Trump. Video messages circulated on social media appealing directly to Israel and the United States for help.
The hope for the protesters lies in the fact that Trump himself stated on January 2, a few days after the demonstrations broke out, “If Iran shots [sic] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”
Trump then wrote on Truth Social last Tuesday, the day which saw the most direct promise of aid: “Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!”
“Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price. I have canceled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY,” the message continued.
So far, tensions almost came to a head in the shape of military action last Tuesday night, when Iran closed its airspace, anticipating some form of American attack. This occurred as the Islamic Republic was scheduled to execute some protesters on Wednesday before stopping, with Trump threatening “very strong action” if Iran proceeded with the executions.
He then claimed over 800 executions had been halted because of his threats to target the regime, stating, “The killing in Iran has stopped.”
Last week, Iran’s Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who has been the de facto leader of the protests from exile in the US, as hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Iranians chanted his name in the streets, wrote on social media, “President Trump is not Obama. His words of support for the protesters in Iran show that. Now is the time to act. The president is a man of action and a man of peace. Now, he can act to bring about the greatest peace the world has ever seen: by helping Iranians finally end this criminal regime.”
Pahlavi followed with a blunt warning against renewed diplomacy, “Negotiating with this criminal regime, which is still threatening America and the president, will not bring peace. But immediate action to support these brave protesters will save thousands of lives and bring lasting peace to the region. That will be President Trump’s legacy.”
Does Trump want a Pahlavi-run Iran?
The American president himself was ambiguous about Pahlavi in an interview published last Wednesday, when Trump said Pahlavi “seems very nice,” but expressed uncertainty over whether Pahlavi would be able to muster support within Iran to eventually take over.
“He seems very nice, but I don’t know how he’d play within his own country,” Trump said. “And we really aren’t up to that point yet. I don’t know whether or not his country would accept his leadership. Certainly, if they would, that would be fine with me.”
That message did not receive a positive response from Pahlavi’s supporters, who maintain that the son of the former shah is Iran’s best hope to transition to a country with a functioning economy and positive diplomatic relations. The crown prince himself has presented a 180-day plan to stabilize Iran before holding a referendum on the country’s political future.
However, Trump appeared to flip-flop again over the weekend, telling Politico, “It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran.”
“[Khamenei] is a sick man who should run his country properly and stop killing people,” he added.
In response, the supreme leader stated on Saturday night, “We consider the US president the criminal for the casualties, damages, and slander he inflicted on the Iranian nation,” according to Iranian state media.
According to state media, Khamenei also said, seemingly in direct reaction to Trump’s remarks, that “we will not drag the country into war, but we will not let domestic or international criminals go unpunished.”
Is a strike on Iran part of Trump's endgame?
So is Trump going back on his word to help the protesters, and why is he not holding Khamenei to account?
Trump has been known to follow through on grandiose plans. When he returned to power in January, 2025, he stated one of his first aims was to bring peace to Gaza and an end to the war between Israel and Hamas. The US president was true to his word and managed to implement a ceasefire, the return of all but one of the hostages, and a new Board of Peace to manage Gaza.
There was also the audacious capture of Venezuela’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, on January 3 after months of threats, when the South American leader was taken from his bed alongside his wife and delivered to US officials to stand trial in New York.
So the American president often follows through on his plans. How much face would he lose if he left the Iranian protesters without help? Iranians both within and beyond Iran have spoken to The Jerusalem Post of their disappointment that, despite the multiple promises, Trump has so far done nothing.
One of the main questions that remains unanswered is why Trump called off the strikes. Was he truly placated by promises from the Islamic Republic’s regime? Is there concern about triggering a broader regional conflict? Are there economic considerations at play?
Was it a request by Netanyahu in order for Israel to replenish its defensive armaments, as Israel will be the country in the firing line for any Iranian response? Was there some other agreement between Netanyahu and Trump to hold off targeting the regime right now?
We wait to see the truth and how things unfold, but given Trump’s track record, it would seem implausible for him to promise something such as “help is on its way” to Iran’s protesters and then abandon them to their deaths.
He would lose a lot of face in the geopolitical arena, whether he wants to or not. At a time when Trump is threatening European governments with financial reprisals over Greenland, moreover, the US president needs to appear as strong as he can.
Back in June, Trump boasted that it was he who allowed Khamenei to live and fight another day. That fight is being implemented in the suffering of the Iranian people, and still, Trump waits. Will he let Khamenei off the hook for a second time?