Photo: Alamy
President Donald Trump warned on Friday that the United States would intervene if Iran began killing protesters as demonstrations over the country’s worsening economy spread across multiple cities.
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump said, “If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The president’s warning came as protests erupted across Iran, fueled by inflation, unemployment and a collapsing currency. At least seven people have been reported killed during recent clashes, according to international reports.
Iranian officials quickly pushed back against President Trump’s remarks. Ali Larijani, a former parliament speaker and secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, wrote on X that the U.S. and Israel were responsible for fomenting unrest.
“With the statements by Israeli officials and Donald Trump, what has been going on behind the scenes is now clear,” Larijani said. He warned that American interference “would mean destabilizing the entire region and destroying America’s interests.”
“The American people should know — Trump started this adventurism,” Larijani added. “They should be mindful of their soldiers’ safety.”
The tensions come months after Iran launched a strike on Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest U.S. military installation in the Middle East. The base houses about 10,000 American troops and supports operations against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The Iranian strike followed U.S. B-2 bomber raids on three Iranian nuclear sites in June.
The unrest follows months of heightened regional tension after a conflict between Israel and Iran in June, during which the U.S. joined Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Since then, Iranian leaders have claimed they halted uranium enrichment in a bid to reopen diplomatic channels, though talks have not resumed.
Both President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have continued to warn Tehran against rebuilding its nuclear capabilities, pledging that renewed efforts would prompt further U.S. and Israeli action.