Washington would step in if protesters are violently killed, Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
“If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue,” he wrote. “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”
Protests turn deadly
Trump’s remarks came as protests in Iran reached a fifth consecutive day on Thursday, with at least seven protesters reported killed by security forces. Demonstrations spread to new cities, including the clerical stronghold of Qom, where crowds openly called for the downfall of the theocracy.
Earlier, a US official said the protests reflect deep public anger at years of government failure. In a written statement on Thursday, a spokesperson for the United States Department of State described the unrest as an expression of the Iranian people’s “understandable anger.”
“The protests reflect the understandable anger of the Iranian people at their government's failures and excuses,” the official said, accusing Tehran of neglecting the economy, agriculture, water and electricity for decades while “squandering billions 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 across dozens of locations, from Tehran and Isfahan to Lorestan, Mazandaran, Khuzestan, Hamadan and Fars. Protesters chanted slogans directly targeting the ruling system and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Pro-monarchy slogans dominated many rallies, highlighting how the unrest has moved beyond economic grievances into open political defiance. Security forces used live fire in several cities, including Nurabad in Lorestan and Hamedan in western Iran, where videos showed officers shooting at demonstrators who remained in the streets despite the crackdown.
