A top Iranian cleric, Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, demanded the execution of protesters in a Friday sermon. He called them "armed hypocrites" and said they should "be put to death." Khatami accused the protesters of being "butlers" and "soldiers" of Israel and the US. He warned neither country should "expect peace." Khatami is a key member of Iran's powerful Guardian Council and Assembly of Experts. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump slowed plans for a military strike on Iran this week. He told reporters that Iranian leaders had agreed to stop executing protesters. On Friday night, Trump thanked Iran for ending executions, claiming as many as 800 protesters were spared. However, it was unclear where these numbers came from. Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, called Trump a "criminal" on Saturday for interfering in Iran's affairs. He also promised harsher punishments for protesters. "By God’s grace, the Iranian nation must break the back of the seditionists just as it broke the back of the sedition," Khamenei said. Rights groups say the crackdown continues. More than 3,090 people have died in the protests, with nearly 4,000 more cases pending, according to the Human Rights Activists news agency. Over 22,100 people were arrested, raising concerns about mistreatment. The protests began on December 28 in Tehran after a sharp fall in Iran’s currency, the rial. What started as trader protests quickly grew into demands to end the government. It became the deadliest unrest since the 1979 revolution. Authorities responded with brutal force. Human Rights Watch called it "mass killings of protesters." This crackdown has mostly cleared the streets of demonstrators. Authorities are now punishing those involved, blaming foreign powers for the unrest. Khatami said protesters damaged 350 mosques, 126 prayer halls, and multiple emergency vehicles. However, it remains unclear if protests will flare again. Iran still suffers from an internet shutdown lasting over a week. Reza Pahlavi, son of Iran's late shah and an opposition figure, kept calling for government overthrow. He urged Trump to act. "I believe the president is a man of his word," Pahlavi said. "Regardless of whether action is taken or not, we as Iranians have no choice to carry on the fight."