WASHINGTON (The Thursday Times) — US President Donald Trump warned Iran that the United States would intervene if Iranian authorities shoot or “violently” kill peaceful protesters, escalating rhetoric at a moment of heightened volatility inside the Islamic Republic.
In a Truth Social post on Friday, Trump said the US would “come to their rescue” if protesters were killed and added that America was “locked and loaded and ready to go”, without specifying what action he had in mind or what threshold would trigger a response.
Iranian officials did not immediately issue an official response, though a senior figure, Ali Larijani, publicly warned that American intervention would create regional “chaos” and endanger US interests, while alleging foreign involvement in the unrest, without presenting evidence.
The exchange lands amid Iran’s most serious protest wave in several years, initially driven by economic grievances and escalating after clashes with security forces, with reports of deaths and arrests adding urgency to the international reaction.∎
