President Trump said in a post on Truth Social that the United States would intervene if protesters were violently killed.
“If Iran follows its custom and shoots or violently kills peaceful protesters, the United States will come to their aid,” he wrote. “We're locked, loaded and ready to go.”
Protests turn deadly
President Trump's remarks came as protests in Iran reached a fifth straight day on Thursday, with at least seven demonstrators reportedly killed by security forces. Demonstrations spread to new cities, including Qom, the clergy's stronghold, where crowds openly called for the overthrow of the theocracy.
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Iran protests reach worst day as unrest spreads to cleric stronghold Qom
Earlier, U.S. officials said the protests reflected deep public anger over years of government failures. A U.S. State Department spokesperson said in a written statement Thursday that the unrest was an expression of the Iranian people's “justified anger.”
“The protests reflect the Iranian people's understandable anger at the government's failures and excuses,” the official said, accusing the government of neglecting the economy, agriculture, water and electricity for decades while “wasting billions of dollars on terrorist proxies and nuclear weapons research.” The statement also cited Iran's involvement in acts of “terrorism against the United States and its allies.”
Demonstrations were reported in dozens of locations, from Tehran and Isfahan to Lorestan, Mazandaran, Khuzestan, Hamadan and Fars. The demonstrators chanted slogans directly targeting the ruling regime and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Pro-monarchy slogans dominated many rallies, highlighting how unrest is moving beyond economic grievances to open political defiance. Security forces used live ammunition in several cities, including Nurabad in Lorestan province and Hamedan in western Iran, with video footage showing police firing on protesters who remained on the streets despite the crackdown.
