WASHINGTON/TEHRAN: US President Donald Trump has warned Iran not to use lethal force against protesters, saying the United States would intervene if Iranian authorities violently suppress demonstrations that have erupted across the country over worsening economic conditions.
“If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, the United States of America will come to their rescue,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”
Trump’s remarks followed reports of multiple deaths as Iran’s largest protests in nearly three years escalated into violent clashes between demonstrators and security forces in several provinces.
According to local media, at least five people were killed and several others injured during protests in western and southwestern Iran on Thursday. The semi-official Fars News Agency, citing an unnamed local official, reported that more than 150 protesters gathered in the Lordegan area of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, chanting anti-government slogans and throwing stones at public buildings.
Police intervened after violence broke out, with some protesters opening fire on security forces, injuring several officers. Two people were killed during the clashes, the report said.
Fars also reported that three people were killed and 17 others wounded in Lorestan province when protesters attacked a police headquarters during unrest in the city of Azna. Attackers were said to have used both cold and live weapons and attempted to seize officers’ arms, triggering further violence.
The unrest followed earlier incidents in Kuhdasht, also in Lorestan, where local media said 20 people were arrested a day earlier and a member of the Basij force, affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed.
The protests began after shopkeepers demonstrated on Sunday against the government’s handling of a sharp fall in the Iranian rial and rapidly rising prices. On December 28, traders in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar staged protests over economic hardship, which later spread to several cities nationwide.
Iran’s economy has been under sustained pressure since 2018, when the United States reimposed sanctions after Trump withdrew from an international nuclear agreement during his first term.
Iranian officials have warned against foreign involvement. Ali Larijani, a senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said US interference in the protests would lead to instability across the region.
Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said authorities were aware of public anger. “We are watching, listening, and officially acknowledging the protests, crises, and challenges,” she said.
President Masoud Pezeshkian has also acknowledged widespread dissatisfaction, saying the government bears responsibility for the country’s economic crisis and cautioning officials against blaming external actors, including the United States.
