Jaina Araf

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's statement appeared to acknowledge that thousands of people have been killed in the protests.

Iran's foreign minister said last week the deaths were in the hundreds.

A U.S.-based Iranian human rights group says it has verified more than 3,000 deaths, most of them protesters, in demonstrations sparked by Iran's collapsing economy, much of it due to U.S.

sanctions.

Khamenei said while Iran does not want war, it will not let domestic or international criminals go unpunished.

President Trump had threatened Iran if protesters were killed, but said this week that the killings had stopped.

Jane Araf, NPR News, Amman.

This is NPR.