US President Donald Trump has issued a warning to Iran’s leaders, after offering support to anti-government protesters telling them the United States would “have their back” if they came under assault. Trump said Washington “will need to do what’s right and come to their rescue”, before adding the phrase: “We are locked and loaded and waiting to hear from the kingdom”.
The warning comes as Iran grapples with its deadliest wave of protests in years. The country’s economy is failing, food prices are skyrocketing, and the value of the Iranian rial is plunging.
Tensions Reach a Boiling Point
Iran quickly descended into violence. At least eight people have died after a week of huge protests, reports say. The trouble started last Sunday in Tehran, the capital, where shopkeepers shut their stores to demonstrate against the high cost of living. University students and tens of thousands of others soon followed, with protests spreading to dozens of cities.
Though the protests first erupted over money problems, they have accumulated grievances of people demanding a change in government. Some are even chanting against the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In turn, Iranian officials have warned that any efforts to foment “instability” will be met with a “decisive response.”
The current disturbances are the most widespread since protests in 2022 over the death of Mahsa Amini. The new protests may be smaller for now, but the anger over the economy has united a broad segment of society from business owners to students.
A History of Military Action
It’s not the first time Trump has taken a tough line on Iran. He authorised United States air strikes on the nuclear facilities of Iran in June. American officials said the move was needed to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran retaliated soon after by launching missiles at a large United States military base in Qatar.
Trump’s new “locked and loaded” comment indicates he is ready to deploy the military again if violence by the Iranian government befalls its own people. But he did not spell out precisely how he would “rescue” the protesters.
The Iranian regime has responded furiously to Trump’s message. Ali Larijani, a close adviser to Iran’s leader, warned Trump: “Be cautious.” And he cautioned that any American intervention would result in “chaos” throughout the Middle East and jeopardise American interests.
Violence Reported Across the Country
Iranian sources speak of “battlefields” in some regions inside the country. In the city of Lordegan, witnesses report that security forces have shot directly into crowds. Two people were said to have been killed there on Thursday, and videos show flaming cars and people running through the streets.
Other deaths have been reported in the west and south of the country. At one funeral for a man shot dead in the city of Kouhdasht, thousands of mourners, builder in hand reportedly drove away police who came to confiscate the coffin. While Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, has said he will heed the people’s “legitimate demands,” the security forces are following a much rougher path. Thousands of police and volunteer soldiers have been deployed to the streets in an effort to prevent the protest from getting even bigger.
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