Donald Trump has threatened to intervene in Iran if the authorities there kill demonstrators, prompting warnings from senior Iranian officials that any United States (U.S.) interference would cross a “red line”.
In a post on social media on Friday, Trump said that the U.S. would “come to the aid” if Iran were to shoot and kill demonstrators. He also added that the U.S. is “ready to act,” without explaining what that specifically means in practice.
Protests in Iran are now entering their sixth day and are the largest since 2022, when the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody sparked mass demonstrations across the country. The current unrest erupted after an unprecedented collapse of the national currency on Sunday, when the Iranian rial fell to around 1.4 million to one US dollar, further worsening the already difficult state of the economy.
Seven people have been killed, including one volunteer from the Basij security forces, while footage showed members of the security forces armed with shotguns, with the sound of gunfire in the background.
Responding to Trump’s threat of intervention, Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned that Iran’s national security is “a red line, not material for adventurous tweets”.
“Any hand that, under pretexts, comes close to Iran’s security will be cut off by a response that will cause regret,” Shamkhani said in a post on X.
These threats come just days after Trump said that the U.S. could attack Iran if it is determined that it is reviving its nuclear programme, further raising tensions between the two countries.
Another senior Iranian official, Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, accused the U.S. and Israel of being behind the protests in Iran, a frequent claim by Iranian authorities when faced with demonstrations.
“Trump must understand that U.S. intervention in this internal issue will lead to the destabilisation of the entire region and the destruction of U.S. interests,” Larijani wrote on X. ” U.S. citizens must know that Trump is the one who started this adventure and that he should pay attention to the safety of his soldiers.”
Iran has previously threatened to target U.S. troops stationed in the Middle East, and in June it attacked the Al-Udeid air base in Qatar after the U.S. struck Iranian uranium-enrichment facilities.
The current protests are taking place in Tehran, but have also spread to other cities, such as Isfahan in central Iran. Traders have closed their shops in protest, and students have occupied university campuses to express dissatisfaction. Although economic conditions are the main trigger, demonstrators have also chanted slogans against the authorities and condemned, as they say, corruption and poor governance.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian initially called on representatives of the demonstrators to hold talks, taking a less confrontational approach than during the 2022 protests, which the authorities violently suppressed. Pezeshkian said he had instructed the government to listen to the demonstrators’ “legitimate demands”.
However, the recent deaths of demonstrators could indicate that the authorities are taking a tougher stance as the protests continue. In a statement on Monday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard warned that a hard line would be taken against any foreign interference or “rebellion” in the country.
As it faces protests at home, Iran is simultaneously trying to reject U.S. accusations that it is re-establishing its nuclear programme. Tehran claims that it is no longer enriching uranium anywhere in the country and signals that it is open to negotiations with the West.
