Trump: US Will 'Come to the Rescue' if Iran Kills Protesters

President Trump and a top Iranian security official exchanged dueling threats Friday as widening economic protests swept across parts of the Islamic Republic, further escalating tensions between the countries after the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites in June. At least seven people have been killed so far in violence surrounding demonstrations.

• "If Iran shots (sic) and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue, Trump said in a Truth Social post around 3am. "We are locked and loaded and ready to go."

• Shortly after, Ali Larijani, a former parliament speaker who serves as the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, alleged in posts on X that Israel and the US were stoking the demonstrations, the AP reports. He offered no evidence to support the allegation, which Iranian officials have repeatedly made during years of protests sweeping the country.
• "Trump should know that US interference in this internal matter would mean destabilizing the entire region and destroying America's interests." Larijani wrote. "The American people should know—Trump started this adventurism. They should be mindful of their soldiers' safety."

• The current protests, now in their sixth day, have become the biggest in Iran since 2022, when the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody triggered nationwide demonstrations. However, the demonstrations have yet to be countrywide and have not been as intense as those surrounding the death of Amini, who was detained over not wearing her hijab, or headscarf, to the liking of authorities.
• Iran's civilian government under reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian has been trying to signal it wants to negotiate with protesters. However, Pezeshkian has acknowledged there is not much he can do as Iran's rial currency has rapidly depreciated, with $1 now costing some 1.4 million rials. That sparked the initial protests. The protests, taking root in economic issues, have heard demonstrators chant against Iran's theocracy as well.
• In a Wednesday post on its Farsi account on X, the US State Department urged authorities to end the crackdown, saying it was concerned that protesters were facing violence and intimidation, CNN reports. "First the bazaars. Then the students. Now the whole country. Iranians are united. Different lives, one demand: respect our voices and our rights," the department said.