President Donald Trump issued a forceful warning to Tehran early Friday, declaring that the United States is "locked and loaded" to intervene if the Iranian government continues its violent crackdown on peaceful protesters.
Writing on Truth Social, the president cautioned that if Iran “violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue.” The warning comes as at least seven people have already been reported killed during nationwide demonstrations triggered by a plummeting currency and deteriorating economic conditions.
The unrest, described as the most significant since 2022, has seen the rial collapse to 1.4 million per U.S. dollar. In response to the growing chaos, President Masoud Pezeshkian has taken the unusual step of acknowledging the government's failures, stating, “If people are unhappy with us, we are the ones at fault.”
However, hardliners in the regime have been quick to blame foreign "adventurism." Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, warned that any U.S. interference would destabilize the region and potentially destroy American interests.
Tensions between the two nations have remained at a boiling point since June 2025, when U.S. B-2 bombers carried out "Operation Midnight Hammer," striking three Iranian nuclear sites with bunker-buster bombs. In a face-saving retaliation, Iran launched missiles at the Al-Udeid Airbase in Qatar, though the attack caused minimal damage and no casualties.
While the Pentagon says it "stands ready to execute" the president's orders, Iranian officials have vowed that any "intervening hand" will be cut off.