US President Donald Trump warned that Washington would step in if Iran “shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters,” saying the United States is “locked and loaded and ready to go.”
On his Truth Social platform, Trump said on Friday: “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!”
Protests erupted on December 28 at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar over the sharp depreciation of the Iranian rial against foreign currencies and worsening economic conditions, before spreading to several other cities nationwide. At least five people have reported to have been killed in the protests.
In response to Trump’s comments, Ali Larijani, a former parliament speaker who serves as the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, alleged on Friday on the social platform X that Israel and the US were stoking the demonstrations, without providing evidence.
“Trump should know that intervention by the US in the domestic problem corresponds (to) chaos in the entire region and the destruction of the US interests,” Larijani wrote on X, which the Iranian government blocks. “The people of the US should know that Trump began the adventurism. They should take care of their own soldiers.”
Larijani’s remarks likely referenced America’s wide military footprint in the region. Iran in June attacked Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar after US strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites.
Worsening economic conditions
Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency and human rights group Hengaw reported fatalities related to the protests during clashes between protesters and security forces in the country. Two people were killed in the city of Lordegan in southwestern Iran, while Fars said three others died in Azna and another in Kuhdasht.
The agency, citing an unnamed local official, reported on Thursday that more than 150 people gathered in the Lordegan area of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, chanting anti-government slogans and throwing stones at public buildings.
“After police intervened, some protesters opened fire at security forces, injuring a number of officers, while two people were killed during the clashes,” the official said.
President Masoud Pezeshkian has also acknowledged public discontent, saying the government bears responsibility for the current economic problems and urging officials not to blame external actors such as the US.
