Washington DC: United States President Donald Trump on Friday (January 2) warned Iran of dire consequences if Tehran continues to use force against peaceful protesters. Notably, Iran is witnessing widespread protests over worsening economic conditions in the country.
Trump said that the US is "locked and loaded" to respond if Iranian authorities use any force against the protesters. "If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" the US President said in his Truth Social post.
Responding to Trump's remarks, Ali Larijani, a former parliament speaker who serves as the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, alleged on the social platform X that Israel and the US were stoking the demonstrations.
"Trump should know that intervention by the US in domestic problems corresponds to chaos in the entire region and the destruction of US interests," Larijani wrote on X, which is currently banned by Iranian authorities.
Protests over deteriorating economic conditions rocked Iran. Protesters reportedly clashed with police, hurled stones at officers, and torched vehicles.
As per Fars News Agency, at least two people were killed during clashes between dozens of protesters and police in Lordegan county in the southwestern Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province. The identity of the deceased is not yet known.
A member of Iran's Basij paramilitary force was killed and 13 others injured in the city of Kuhdasht in the unrest that broke out on Wednesday night. Twenty people were detained during the protests, the prosecutor of Kuhdasht said on Thursday, according to state-run Tasnim News Agency.
The unrest represents the largest demonstrations since the nationwide protests of 2022, which erupted after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody following her arrest for allegedly violating headscarf rules.
