rewrite this title in other words: Iran threatens to act on Trump’s warning about the treatment of protesters

Iran’s military chief has threatened to take the first step against “speech” against the country as the regime faces mass protests. Maj. Iran’s General Amir Hatami may have been responding to President Donald Trump’s warning that the United States will take action if violence is used against protesters.

Trump has recently made it clear that the US will intervene if it sees Iran mistreating or killing protesters.

The president wrote on Truth Social, “If Iran fires [sic] and violently kill peaceful protesters, which is their practice, the United States of America will help them. We’re locked and loaded and ready to go.”

Trump’s warning took on new meaning in Iran following the historic US operation in Venezuela that led to the capture and extradition of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

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Hatami, who was speaking to the students of the military school, said, “The Islamic Republic considers the escalation of such rhetoric against the Iranian nation as a threat and will not leave its continuation without a response,” according to the Associated Press, citing the state-run news agency IRNA.

He added, “I can say with certainty that today the readiness of the armed forces of Iran is much greater than before the war. If the enemy makes a mistake, we will face a clear answer, and we will cut off the hand of any aggressor.”

Economic problems have led to an uprising by the Iranian people, and international backlash over the treatment of protesters has left regime officials feeling threatened, particularly by the US and Israel.

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In an effort to end the unrest, the Iranian government began paying the equivalent of $7 a month to subsidize rising food costs for basic foods, such as rice, meat and pasta. Iran state TV reported that the funding will go to more than 71 million people across the country, according to the AP. The center noted that the new funding is more than double the 4.5 million people previously received.

Iranian shopkeepers have warned that prices for things like cooking oil could triple under pressure from the country’s currency collapse, AP reports. Iranian media also reported rising prices of basic goods, including cooking oil, poultry and cheese.

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Iran’s vice president in charge of senior affairs, Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah, told reporters that the country is in “total economic war,” the AP reported. He called for “economic surgery” to end rent-seeking policies and corruption in Iran, the AP added.

The protests started late last month and have shown no signs of stopping. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said the towns of Abdanan (Ilam province) and Malekshahi were “captured” by protesters.

The Associated Press and Fox News Digital’s Emma Bussey contributed to this report.