Trump slams Iran for ‘shooting people’ to crush protests

What began as anger over the surging price of the US dollar and the collapse of the rial has widened into a broader wave of unrest, moving beyond market corridors and into streets, squares and university campuses across multiple provinces.

In Tehran, major sections of the bazaar were shuttered, including major commercial centers in the Grand Bazaar as well as the Alaeddin mall.

Crowds poured into streets in several parts of central Tehran, where security forces deployed tear gas and clashes were reported.

One widely shared video shows a protester sitting on the ground in front of security forces. Many viewers compared the scene to the “Tank Man” moment during China’s 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, a symbol of solitary defiance in the face of state power. The protester was quickly beaten and removed.

The unrest deepened outside the capital. Protests and nighttime rallies were reported from Qeshm Island in the south to Zanjan and Hamadan in the north, and from Malard and Pardis near Tehran to Kerman in the southeast.

In Hamadan, security forces reportedly shot directly at demonstrators, and in Malard, tear gas was fired at protesters.

While the slogans were mainly focused on economic issues on the first day, the second day's chants underscored a transition from economic frustration to more explicit political dissent.

Chants in several cities targeted Iran's political authority, with crowds shouting slogans such as 'death to the dictator" and "Seyyed Ali (Khamenei) will be toppled this year".

Pro-monarchy slogans like "This is the final battle, Pahlavi will return," and "Reza Shah may God bless your soul" were also heard in various parts of Tehran and other cities during Monday protests, videos obtained by Iran International show.

Exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi in a message on Instagram called on Iranian people to join protesters in the streets and put an end to the rule of Tehran's theocracy which toppled his father's monarchy in 1979.

Root causes of protests

At the core of the crisis is the dollar’s surge to roughly 144,000 tomans over the weekend before easing slightly to 136,000 tomans on Monday.

Shopkeepers say the volatility has made it impossible to price goods, secure supply or plan for basic business survival.

Amid the turmoil, the governor of Iran’s central bank resigned and President Masoud Pezeshkian appointed Abdolnaser Hemmati as the new chief in an effort widely seen as aimed at calming markets and protests.

However, there was no immediate sign the move influenced protesters, and momentum continued to build.

Tehran shopkeepers have vowed to extend their strikes into Tuesday, marking a third consecutive day of action.

Students at Shahid Beheshti University and Amirkabir University, prestigious academic centers in Tehran, also announced plans for a protest gathering Tuesday morning.

With protests spreading nationwide, turning more confrontational and carrying into the night, the coming days will test whether this wave remains anchored in economic collapse or develops into a broader challenge to authority.

Speaking to reporters alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida, Trump said the United States will deal a heavy blow on Iran if it tries to recover from the US and Israeli strikes in June.

"I'm hearing that Iran is trying to recover—if that happens, we'll have to hit them hard," Trump added.

"If they will continue with the missiles, yes. The nuclear, fast. Okay? One will be yes, absolutely. The other was, we'll do it immediately," Trump said when asked if he would support Israel's strikes on Iran in case it further develops its ballistic missile and nuclear programs.

In a joint press conference with Netanyahu later in the day, Trump said he hopes Iran is "not trying to build up again, because if they are, we're going to have no choice, but very quickly to eradicate that buildup."

"I hope Iran is not trying to build up, as I've been reading, that they're building up weapons and other things. And if they are, they're not using the sites that we obliterated, but they're using possibly different sites. We know exactly where they're going, what they're doing, and I hope they're not doing it, because we don't want to waste the fuel on B-2, it's a 37-hour trip both ways. I don't want to waste a lot of fuel," he said.

The United States held five rounds of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program earlier this year, for which Trump set a 60-day deadline.

When no agreement was reached by the 61st day on June 13, Israel launched a surprise military offensive followed by US strikes on June 22 targeting key nuclear facilities in Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow.

The attacks killed nuclear scientists along with hundreds of military personnel and civilians. Iranian counterattacks killed 32 Israeli civilians and an off-duty soldier.

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has said dealing with Trump is beneath the dignity of the Islamic Republic, while Iranian officials have rejected US demands to end uranium enrichment and curb missile capabilities.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke with Oman’s Foreign Minister on Monday over the phone. Oman has previously mediated negotiations between Tehran and Washington.

Trump blames Obama for nuclear Iran

Ahead of his meeting with Netanyahu, Trump shared a post on his Truth Social account of an old share on X that the Obama and Biden administrations gave money to Iran to fund its nuclear program.

The message originated on X from an account using the pen name Chris Bjornberg and was part of a promotion for his 2023 book “The Night Rider and the Warrior Queen.”

“One of Obama’s most treasonous policies was to fund Iran’s nuclear program,” the post shared by Trump said, alongside an image of a nuclear explosion over New York City and further criticism of Democratic administrations’ Iran policy.

“Biden and Obama gave Iran over $220 billion to research and build nukes. Iran nearly had 6 nuclear bombs and Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM’s) that would have destroyed Israel and 5 cities in the US," the post said.

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The Obama administration negotiated the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which restricted Tehran’s nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief, before Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement in 2018.

Iran has since expanded its nuclear program beyond JCPOA limits, and the deal has effectively stalled.

Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said those whose actions increase pressure on people’s livelihoods – whether deliberately or not – would be warned and, if they persist, prosecuted, according to remarks carried by state media.

“Those who, knowingly or unknowingly, put added pressure on people and their livelihoods and effectively move in the direction of the enemy’s objectives must be cautioned,” Ejei said. “If they do not heed these warnings, they must be seriously pursued and punished by the relevant authorities.”

Ejei framed economic disruptions as part of what he described as coordinated “psychological and economic pressure” by Iran’s adversaries, saying judicial authorities must respond decisively.

He cited laws allowing harsh penalties for acts deemed to constitute “corruption on earth,” a charge that can carry the death penalty, including in cases of large-scale economic disruption.

He said penalties such as fines were insufficient in the current climate. “These fines are not deterrent,” Ejei said, calling for punishments proportionate to current conditions.

The judiciary chief also stressed that responsibility extended beyond traders to officials who enable economic violations. He warned that individuals inside government bodies who facilitate hoarding, smuggling or currency abuses would face prosecution.

Addressing currency volatility, Ejei said authorities must identify those responsible for market instability.

He cited figures from central bank officials indicating that around $18 billion in export revenues had not been returned to the country.

The warning comes amid sharp falls in the rial, accelerating inflation and protests by shopkeepers in Tehran over rising costs and economic mismanagement.

Traders in the historic Chaharsouq bazaar joined the strike, while Tehran’s gold market remained shut and shopkeepers gathered for a protest on Lalehzar Street.

Merchants at other markets, including Jafari bazaar and parts of the Shoush wholesale district, were also reported to have stopped work.

The latest closures follow protests on Sunday by mobile phone traders outside the Iran Mobile Center and the Alaeddin Mobile Shopping Center on Hafez Street in central Tehran. V

ideos sent to Iran International showed crowds chanting antigovernment slogans, with passersby later joining demonstrations near Jomhouri Street.

Reports also circulated on social media of protests at Tehran’s Charsou mall, while iron market traders were said to have closed their shops to protest the currency’s decline.

The unrest comes as Iran’s rial slid to new record lows, weakening to around 1,445,000 per dollar on Sunday, compared with about 1,370,000 the day before and roughly 1,140,000 a month earlier, according to open market rates.

Iran has been grappling with soaring prices and currency volatility. Official data show food prices have risen by more than 66% over the past year, while year-on-year inflation reached 52.6% in December.

There were no immediate reports of security force intervention on Monday.

The first video, circulated widely on social media, featured a police officer in the southwestern province of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad. The officer, identified as Staff Sergeant Mohammad-Amin Ardeshir-Moghaddam, serves in the provincial capital Yasuj, one of Iran’s poorest regions.

In the video, Ardeshir-Moghaddam complained about low wages across the armed forces, particularly within the Law Enforcement Command. He said many police personnel are forced to work second jobs—including driving for ride-hailing apps—to cover basic living expenses. Referring to his own situation, he said he was under such financial pressure that he was considering selling a kidney.

Less than 48 hours later, the officer released a second video, walking back his remarks, saying the video was merely “a heart-to-heart talk with General Radan,” the national police chief.

He added that he had never imagined his words would become “a pretext for misuse by certain individuals and groups” seeking to drive a wedge between the police, the public and what he described as “the loyal base of the system.”

A second officer, a sharper warning

Days later, a similar video emerged—this time from Bandar Abbas in southern Iran. In the clip, Third Lieutenant Mostafa Loghmani, a police officer, said he had just received his monthly salary of 23 million tomans (roughly $171).

With three school-aged children, rental housing and heavy commuting costs, he said he too saw no option but to consider selling a kidney.

Loghmani went further than his colleague, openly sharing his bank card number and contact details and inviting viewers to contact him to purchase the organ.

Referring to his colleague’s second video and what he suggested was an apology made under pressure or threat, Loghmani said he would not back down. “I have nothing to lose, and I will not take back what I said."

Saying many colleagues face similar hardships but remain silent out of fear of repercussions, Loghmani directly addressed Iran’s supreme leader and senior officials, warning that neglecting the living conditions of police forces would eventually exhaust their patience.

The following day, he released another video saying that at the time of recording the first clip, he had been taking certain medications and was not in a stable mental condition, adding that he did not want his remarks to be misused online.

In a separate video circulating on social media, a police officer with an altered voice whose face is not shown alleges that retraction videos are recorded under pressure and threats to families, warning: “We are fire under the ashes.”

The pattern in these cases sends a message to the public, the moderate news website Rouydad24 wrote. "Even if officially considered coincidental, they signal that a problem exists that finds no outlet except sudden eruption on social media.”

Broader discontent within the ranks

In another circulating clip, an unidentified police colonel said that after 25 years of service, making ends meet had become impossible, and he was forced to retire early and seek other work.

Such videos are virtually unprecedented in Iran. Online, users have described the videos as signs of “attrition,” “force erosion,” and a “silent crisis” within Iran’s security institutions.

Social media users have noted that economic hardship appears to affect police personnel more acutely than members of the regular army or the Revolutionary Guards, many of whom benefit from subsidized organizational housing and other privileges.

The Telegram channel Radio Dej has published alleged pay slips and messages from police and military personnel showing extremely low incomes.

One message, attributed to an air defense officer with 17 years of service, alleges he earns 16 million tomans ($119) a month and criticized what he called “corrupt commanders beating the drums of war.”

In another message, a military spouse told Radio Dej her husband earns 18 million tomans ($134) a month after 24 years of service and that the family could no longer cope.

The Telegram channel also wrote: “Attrition within the armed forces has become so widespread that it has reached even loyalists and personnel committed to the system, showing just how deeply military members are entangled in livelihood and organizational problems.”