US will intervene if Iran shoots peaceful protesters, warns Trump

US President Donald Trump on Friday warned that Washington would step in if Iranian authorities resort to violence against peaceful protesters, as demonstrations raged in Iran.

Posting on his Truth Social platform overnight, Trump said that the United States (US) would act if protesters were targeted. “If Iran kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue,” he wrote, adding that the country was “locked and loaded and ready to go.”

Iranian officials responded sharply, cautioning that any US involvement would destabilise the region and would be met with a strong reaction.

The warning came amid escalating unrest in the Islamic Republic, where protests that began earlier this week have reportedly claimed lives. A human rights group said that at least seven people had been killed, while a semi-official Iranian news agency confirmed at least three deaths.

The demonstrations first broke out on Sunday in Tehran, with protesters voicing anger over economic conditions after the national currency fell to a historic low against the US dollar. Rising prices have added to public frustration.

Since then, protests have spread to smaller cities and towns, with slogans increasingly shifting from economic demands to direct criticism of the clerical leadership and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.