The brutal crackdown on the November protests in Iran came on a direct order from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Reuters reported on Monday, citing sources close to his inner circle, i24NEWS reported.
The order was reportedly issued two days into the unrest, when Ayatollah Khamenei gathered his top security officials for a meeting in his Tehran residence.
Losing his patience with the protesters after they burned his photographs and called for the exiled Shah's successor to return, an angry Khamenei told his lieutenants: "The Islamic Republic is in danger. Do whatever it takes to end it."