Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s, said in a string of comments posted on his Twitter account on Tuesday that the “U.S and Zionists” were behind the anti-government protests in the Islamic Republic and threatened this action would have consequences.

“U.S. officials should know that, firstly, they have missed their target: and if they target Iran again, they will fail. Secondly, they have inflicted damage upon Iran in recent days, and they should know this won’t be left without a response,” Khamenei tweeted.

The supreme leader also boasted about Iran’s hegemonic ambitions in the Middle East and the political and military advances it enjoyed in the 2010s. The Obama administration launched a round of dialogue and rapprochement with the regime that ultimately resulted in the nuclear accord signed in 2015.

“The U.S. President says the Iranian establishment is terrified by their power,” Khamenei wrote. “Well, if we were so terrified by you, how did we kick you out of Iran in late 70s and send you packing, out of the entire region, in the 2010s?” he asked.

“The U.S. is utterly angry….They’re angry at everyone and everything, the nation, the establishment, and the Islamic Revolution of Iran; because they’ve been defeated by your great movement,” Iran’s Supreme Leader continued.

He also denied the grim economy conditions in the country. While the Iranian people suffer great poverty, the regime has invested the financial windfall from the nuclear accord in military adventurism and terrorism across the region. “Iranian people have lived a life of dignity and honor, and by God’s grace their economic problems will be solved!” Khamenei claimed.

He also appeared to enter the debate over allegations about the mental health of President Trump. “Thirdly, this man who sits at the head of the White House— although, he seems to be a very unstable man–he must realize that these extreme and psychotic episodes won’t be left without a response,” he said.

In the United States, politicians of both parties have declared support for the protests, which swelled in major cities across Iran in recent weeks, and which claimed the lives of at least 22 activists and resulted in the arrest of thousands more. Khamenei, President Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Tehran’s top prosecutor have all dismissed the unrest as a U.S.-led scheme supported by Israel and Saudi Arabia.

President Donald Trump quickly announced America’s backing of the Iranian people against the regime and United States ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley,  called a U.N. Security Council emergency session to condemn Iran’s human rights abuses last week.

[Photo: Khamenei.ir ]