Trump says if Iran “kills peaceful protesters,” the US will “save them”

President Trump warned on Friday in a social media post that if Iran “violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their tradition, the United States of America will come to their rescue.”

Mr. Trump offered no further comment on Iran or how the US might intervene to protect protesters in the country in a post on his Truth Social network, published just before 3 a.m. Eastern, but said: “We’re locked and loaded and ready to go.”

It came hours later reports that at least six people have died amid nearly a week of escalating protests in Iran. The unrest started last weekend as business owners expressed their frustration over the difficult economic conditions in the Islamic Republic.

Iran has been plagued for years by dramatic hyperinflation, fueled by Western sanctions superimposed on the clerical government’s strong nuclear system and support for militant groups throughout the region.

Videos and photos from Tehran and other cities posted on social media showed protesters marching through the streets since earlier this week, often chanting anti-government, pro-sovereign slogans and sometimes clashing violently with security forces.

In an apparent attempt to quell the unrest, Iranian authorities have acknowledged economic concerns and said peaceful protests are legal, but have suggested that foreign countries – usually Israel and the US – are behind the gangs fueling the violence in the streets.

Both the US and Israeli governments issued statements of support for the protests before Mr. Trump about possible US intervention, which was not explained on Friday morning.

“The people of Iran want freedom. They have suffered at the hands of the Ayatollahs for a long time,” said Mike Waltz, the US Ambassador to the United Nations, in a post on X earlier this week. “We stand with the Iranian people in the streets of Tehran and across the country as they protest against a hardline regime that has brought them nothing but economic collapse and war.”

Tensions between the US and Iran have escalated this week following a visit to the US by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been lobbying his country’s allies in Washington for decades to take a tougher stance on Iran.

After meeting with Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Sunday, Mr he said he heard that Iran may try to rebuild its nuclear program following the unprecedented The US is striking at its enrichment facilities in June. Mr. Trump warned that if Iran tries to rebuild, “we’re going to take them down. We’re going to beat the hell out of them. But I hope that doesn’t happen.”

on tuesday, Iranian President Mahsoud Pezeshkian said Tehran will respond to “any brutal aggression” with unspecified “harsh and demoralizing” means.

Iran is no stranger to nationwide protests, and recent protests have not come close to the last major outbreak in 2022, which was fueled by an outbreak of violence. Mahsa Amini died in police custodyIranian lady.

Her death in custody after being arrested for allegedly violating the nation’s strict dress code for women sparked outrage across the nation. Several hundred people were killed, including dozens of members of the security forces, who staged a large-scale crackdown, and hundreds of people were arrested.

There were also widespread protests in 2019, caused by a sharp increase in fuel prices.

The standoff between Iran and the US over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program came to a head in June, when Mr. Trump ordered the killing of people. military strikes against Iran’s enrichment facilitiesas Israel is attacking the land.

Although Mr. With Trump hinting earlier this week that the US could take new action if Iran rebuilds its nuclear program, Friday’s brief social media post was the first suggestion of possible US intervention on behalf of Iranian protesters.