President Donald Trump issued a stern warning to Tehran on Friday, stating the United States is "locked and loaded" to intervene if Iranian security forces continue to use lethal force against anti-government protesters.
The unrest, sparked by a currency collapse and soaring inflation, has become the most significant challenge to the Islamic Republic's leadership in years.
At least seven people have been reported killed since demonstrations began on Sunday, with clashes intensifying in western provinces and the capital, Tehran.
"If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue," Trump posted on Truth Social. "We are locked and loaded and ready to go."
The threat follows a period of high military tension. In June 2025, the U.S. and Israel conducted joint airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities and military leadership, a move the Pentagon says set back Tehran’s atomic program by several months.
Tehran Warns of Regional Chaos Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, quickly dismissed Trump’s comments as "adventurism." Larijani warned that any U.S. interference would destabilize the Middle East and jeopardize American interests and personnel in the region.
"The American people should know — Trump started this," Larijani said, suggesting that the U.S. and Israel are instigating the unrest.
Economic Despair Fuels Dissent While previous protests focused on social freedoms, the current wave is driven by a desperate economic crisis. The Iranian rial has lost over a third of its value in the past year, and official year-on-year inflation hit 52% in December.
Economic Indicator (Jan 2026), Annual Inflation Rate is 52%, Rial depreciation >35% (Annual), Unemployment Rate is 9.2% and Poverty Rate ($8.30/day)38.8%.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has adopted a more conciliatory tone than the hardline security apparatus, acknowledging that "failings by the authorities" are responsible for the public's anger. "We are to blame," Pezeshkian said Thursday. "Do not look for America or anyone else to blame."
Despite the president's call for dialogue, state media reported the arrest of dozens of "disturbers" in cities like Kermanshah and Kuhdasht, accusing them of using petrol bombs.
