Khamenei says Iran prepared to repel attack
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Monday that Iran could fend off an attack by its enemies, days after US newspapers reported Israel was considering strikes this year on Iran’s nuclear sites.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Monday that Iran could fend off an attack by its enemies, days after US newspapers reported Israel was considering strikes this year on Iran’s nuclear sites.
“Today, in terms of strong defense and confronting hard threats from the enemy, we have no worries or problems. Our capability to counter hard threats is at an excellent level, and for that reason, the people feel secure,” he said.
The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post reported last week citing US intelligence assessments from last month that Israel saw an opening for an attack on Iranian nuclear sites as early as the first of this year.
Israel is basing its assessment, the papers reported, on Iran's weakness after an Oct. 26 Israeli attack knocked out much of its air defenses and a greater perceived receptiveness to military action from US President Donald Trump.
Khamenei did not directly address the idea of an Israeli attack or potential talks between Iran and the US following the restoration of President Donald Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign.
Earlier this month, while announcing a hasher sanctions policy on Tehran, Trump also signaled a willingness to negotiate a deal with Iran—a proposal that Khamenei has publicly rejected.
His speech in the city of Tabriz, delivered during the month-long commemoration of the Islamic Republic’s 46th anniversary, was claimed by state-run broadcasters to have drawn thousands, although this figure could not be independently verified.
“The Islamic Revolution has managed to preserve itself as an independent identity and as a vast, hopeful base for the peoples of the region and even beyond. The reason for the anger of arrogant and colonialist forces around the world towards the Islamic Republic is the steadfastness and resistance of the Iranian nation in confronting them,” Khamenei told the gathering.
Relative moderate President Masoud Pezeshkian, who was also in attendance, recently backed Khamenei’s opposition to dialogue with the US. Iran’s Supreme Leader is the ultimate decision-maker on foreign and domestic policy.
Since Trump’s announcement, Iranian hardliners have steadfastly resisted any talks, while a few voices have pushed for easing the stance to relieve economic pressure by lifting sanctions.
Over the past year, Israel’s repeated military operations targeting Iranian-backed militant proxies in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria have significantly eroded Tehran’s regional influence. With the fall of Assad’s government—once a critical ally—these external pressures have left Iran in what analysts describe as its most fragile state.
Talks with Washington now appear distant as US-led sanctions deepen hardship and discontent for Iranians grappling with a worsening economy.
The protests began Friday evening at Tehran University’s campus after Amir-Mohammad Khaleghi, an undergraduate business management student, was fatally stabbed by two men who stole his laptop just outside the campus.
On Saturday and Sunday, hundreds of students gathered again at Tehran University and Tarbiat Modares University to protest. They submitted a list of demands to authorities, warning of further demonstrations if their concerns—including the removal of “plainclothes forces” from university campuses—were not addressed.
Students accuse authorities of neglecting their safety amid a rise in robberies near campus in recent years. Meanwhile, they criticize officials for prioritizing the surveillance of student activists and suppressing dissent instead of addressing security concerns.
During Friday’s peaceful protest, four students were arrested, and a female student was injured by one of the unidentified agents who stormed the campus. The detained students were later released.
The presidential administration took an unusually conciliatory approach, a departure from the Iranian government’s typical response. Rather than escalating force against the students, officials appeared willing to defuse tensions. This tactic can be related to current public anger at the deteriorating economic situation and the danger of widespread protests.
University official Hossein Hosseini met with the protesters and blamed the violence on vigilantes and plainclothes security agents who entered the campus without authorization.
Higher Education Minister Hossein Simaei Sarraf cut short an official visit to Saudi Arabia and returned to Iran after Friday’s protests. He later apologized to the students and pledged decisive action against unauthorized interference in university affairs.
“Certain individuals and groups are more focused on creating turmoil rather than resolving crises. These irresponsible actions, whose instigators and masterminds remain unknown, have placed a significant burden on the country,” Deputy Higher Education Minister Gholamreza Zarifian told the reformist Etemad Online, referring to the unrest triggered by Friday’s violence against students.
A law passed by Parliament in 2000, during the presidency of reformist Mohammad Khatami, prohibits police and other security forces from entering higher education institutions except under “extraordinary circumstances” and only with the university dean’s request and the Higher Education Minister’s approval.
This legislation followed the 1999 student protests, which began on July 7 at Tehran University. Students had initially gathered peacefully outside their dormitories to protest the closure of Salam, a reformist newspaper. Some later moved their protest outside the campus before returning to their dormitories without any incidents.
That night, riot police, the Revolutionary Guards’ Basij militia, and vigilante groups raided the student dormitories, attacking sleeping students indiscriminately. They destroyed rooms and personal belongings, and in a tragic incident, one student was thrown to his death from an upper floor. A similarly violent raid occurred at Tabriz University dormitories two days later.
Known as the Kuy-e Daneshgah Disaster, these events sparked days of protests and unrest in Tehran and other major cities. Demonstrators marched toward Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s office in Tehran, chanting slogans against him.
Security forces responded with a brutal crackdown, killing at least three people, injuring over 200, and arresting hundreds more. Many detainees spent years in prison as a result of the protests.
The 1999 university unrest set a precedent for future anti-government protests in 2009, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2022. This history may partly explain the Iranian authorities' apparent reluctance to use force against university students.