Trump and top Iranian official exchange threats over protests in Iran

US president says Washington volition intervene if Tehran violently suppresses protests implicit precocious prices.

United States President Donald Trump has said Washington is “locked and loaded” to respond if Iran kills much protesters, aft cost-of-living demonstrations successful the state turned deadly.

Protesters and information forces clashed successful respective Iranian cities connected Thursday, with six reported killed successful the archetypal deaths since the unrest escalated.

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Shopkeepers successful the capital, Tehran, went connected onslaught connected Sunday implicit precocious prices and economical stagnation, actions that person since dispersed to different parts of the country.

Trump said connected his Truth Social level connected Friday that “if Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America volition travel to their rescue.

“We are locked and loaded and acceptable to go,” the Republican person added.

Ali Larijani, caput of the Supreme National Security Council, condemned Trump’s remarks, saying helium “should cognize that American interference successful this interior contented is equivalent to chaos crossed the full portion and the demolition of American interests”.

“We see the positions of the protesting merchants abstracted from those of the destructive elements,” Larijani added successful a station connected X.

“The radical of the US should cognize that Trump began the adventurism. They should instrumentality attraction of their ain soldiers.”

Larijani’s remarks apt referenced the US’s wide subject footprint successful the region. In June, Iran attacked Al Udeid airbase successful Qatar aft the US strikes connected 3 Iranian atomic sites during Israel’s 12-day warfare with Iran.

Iran’s Fars quality bureau reported connected Thursday that 2 radical were killed successful clashes betwixt information forces and protesters successful the metropolis of Lordegan, successful the state of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, and 3 successful Azna, successful neighbouring Lorestan province.

State tv reported earlier that a subordinate of Iran’s information forces was killed overnight during protests successful the occidental metropolis of Kuhdasht.

Dozens of arrests were besides reported by the authorities crossed aggregate cities.

Public dissatisfaction

Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi, reporting from Tehran, said Iran’s economical woes are putting important unit connected Iranians.

“These protests initially started sporadically, but aboriginal they person dispersed into smaller cities across,” helium said.

“We tin spot this nationalist temper and dissatisfaction successful the protests,” helium said, adding that the confrontations betwixt the protesters and information forces chiefly happened successful smaller cities.

Iran’s system has struggled for years since the US reimposed sanctions successful 2018, aft Trump withdrew from an planetary atomic statement during his archetypal term.

The woody was agreed by his predecessor Barack Obama aft a agelong drawstring of negotiations involving Iran and different Western powers.

The latest protests are the biggest since 2022, erstwhile unrest was triggered by the decease successful custody of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for allegedly violating Iran’s strict formal codification for women.

Her decease prompted a nationwide question of choler that near respective 100 radical dead, including dozens of members of the information forces.