Iran's top leader blames protests on 'thugs and villains'

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a ceremony commemorating the death anniversary of Ayatollah Khomeini, June 4, 2023. [AP Photo]

Iran's supreme leader Sunday defended his tough approach to the West, saying compromise would only invite further hostility from Iran's enemies and blaming recent anti-government protests on "thugs and villains."

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's remarks come amid an intensifying standoff with Western countries over Iran's nuclear program, which has made major advances in the five years since then-President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from an international accord that restricted it.