A hardline cleric leading Friday prayers in Iran’s capital publicly demanded the execution of protesters swept up in the regime’s nationwide crackdown, as Tehran weighs its next steps amid mounting domestic unrest and international pressure.

Speaking at Tehran’s main weekly prayers, Ahmad Khatam called for the death penalty for detainees accused of involvement in the protests and urged authorities to arrest “anyone who supported the rioters in any way.”

His sermon, broadcast live on Iranian state radio, drew chants from worshippers including, “Armed hypocrites should be put to death!”

The remarks come as executions — along with the killing of peaceful protesters — have been identified by Donald Trump as red lines that could trigger U.S. military action, sharply raising the stakes for Iran’s leadership as it seeks to reassert control.

Khatami, who was appointed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and sits on both Iran’s Assembly of Experts and its powerful Guardian Council, framed the unrest as a foreign-backed plot. He described protesters as “butlers” for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and “soldiers of Trump,” accusing them of seeking to “disintegrate the country.”

“They should wait for hard revenge from the system,” Khatami said, referring to Netanyahu and Trump. “Americans and Zionists should not expect peace.”

Beyond fiery denunciations, the cleric also delivered what appeared to be an official accounting of damage attributed to the protests. According to Khatami, 350 mosques, 126 prayer halls and 20 other holy sites were damaged, along with 80 homes belonging to Friday prayer leaders, a key pillar of Iran’s theocratic structure.

He further claimed that unrest had damaged 400 hospitals, 106 ambulances, 71 fire department vehicles and another 50 emergency response vehicles — figures that could not be independently verified.

As a senior public cleric with close ties to Iran’s ruling institutions, Khatami would likely have access to internal government data. His decision to disclose the figures during Friday prayers suggests the regime is using the pulpit as a proxy for official messaging, amplifying its justification for an uncompromising crackdown while avoiding a direct address from senior political leaders.

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