As tens of thousands of Iranians fill the streets in what may be the largest uprising since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the regime in Tehran has responded with brutal force and a familiar rallying cry. During a January 9 address, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused protesters of trying to please the United States. His supporters shouted “Death to America!” while he dismissed President Donald Trump as having hands “stained with the blood of Iranians.” 

This is the same regime that has shouted “Death to America” at Friday prayers for 45 years. The same leadership that declared November 4 a national holiday called “Death to America Day.” For decades, the regime has used this rallying cry to distract and redirect blame for its own governing failures. 

But this time, something is different. As the regime blames America for the protests, many Iranians are chanting “Neither Gaza nor Lebanon, My Life for Iran” and directing their anger at leaders who prioritize funding terrorist proxies like Hamas and Hezbollah instead of meeting the needs of Iranian citizens.  

The economic collapse that sparked the December 28 protests followed the June 2025 war with Israel, UN sanctions, and a currency that lost more than 40 percent of its value. Food prices rose 72 percent. And Iranians began to ask why their government was more focused on fighting America than feeding its own people. 

The Origins of “Death to America” 

This worldview took shape during the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini labeled the United States “the Great Satan,” framing it as the source of Iran’s oppression under the Shah. Israel was labeled “the Little Satan.” 

His successor Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – who has led Iran since 1989 – has kept that hostility central. “America is the number one enemy of our nation,” he said in a 2017 speech. In November 2023, he made his position explicit: “When you chant ‘Death to America!’ It is not just a slogan. It is a policy.” 

During the 2015 nuclear negotiations with the U.S., crowds chanted “Death to America” at a rally where Khamenei spoke. His response: “Of course, yes, death to America, because America is the original source of this pressure.” Most recently, in February 2025, Khamenei told an audience in Tehran: “The Iranian nation has the courage to say, ‘Death to America.'” 

In 2007, crowds chanted “The hatred and rage of the Muslim people is directed toward America, the infidel Satanic regime” ahead of a speech by then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Even Hassan Rouhani, who negotiated the 2015 nuclear deal, said in 2013: “Saying ‘Death to America’ is easy. We need to express ‘Death to America’ with action.” 

Guardian Council head Ahmad Jannati stated in 2007: “We are the enemies of America. The hostility between us is not a personal matter. It is a matter of principle.” 

Current Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani warned in 2020, “Be patient and see the dead bodies of Americans all over the Middle East.” 

Is Death to America Past its Sell Date? 

Iranians are now directing their anger at their own leaders. 

The protests that erupted in late December have spread to all 31 provinces. The regime has responded with brutal force. Death toll estimates range from several hundred to as many as 12,000 to 20,000 protesters killed. The government imposed a near-total internet blackout and arrested thousands. 

President Trump has warned Iran against executing protesters and suggested potential U.S. intervention, prompting Khamenei’s angry response and the familiar “Death to America” chants. 

To Tehran, America is the ultimate enemy. But for the first time in decades, large numbers of Iranians appear to be rejecting that framing. The chants of “Neither Gaza nor Lebanon, My Life for Iran” suggest a population tired of funding foreign aggression while their own economy collapses. 

In the eyes of many Iranians now filling the streets, the real struggle is with a regime that has prioritized ideology over their wellbeing. And that has been true for decades.