President Donald Trump on Friday warned Iran of military action by the United States if citizens challenging the worsening economic crisis are unalived.
In a Truth Social post, Trump announced the U.S. was set for a rescue mission “if Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters,” adding that, “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”
Responding, Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, noted that the positions taken by American and Israeli officials have made clear the “behind-the-scenes of the matter.”
Larijani informed Trump that any interference by the U.S. in Iran’s internal issues was equivalent to chaos across the entire region and the destruction of American interests.
“The American people should know that Trump started this adventurism,” the former parliament speaker wrote on X, advising the U.S. to “pay attention” to its soldiers’ safety.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s adviser, Ali Shamkhani, stated that “any interventionist hand that gets too close to the security of Iran will be cut.”
Also reacting, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Iranian Parliament Speaker, stressed that all American bases and forces in the region would be “legitimate targets” in the wake of an incursion.
The Islamic Republic is facing its largest unrest since 2022, as the outcry by shopkeepers, which began on December 28, snowballed into a nationwide anti-government movement.
Security forces have used tear gas and live ammunition, with reports of at least seven casualties. The government has declared “energy holidays” regarded as an attempt to shrink gatherings.
The President Masoud Pezeshkian-led government has indicated its willingness to negotiate with protesters on their “legitimate demands,” but demonstrators remain in the streets in several cities.
