President Donald Trump said on Friday, January 2nd, that the United States is prepared to respond forcefully if Iranian authorities kill protesters. These threats were made after clashes between demonstrators and security forces that left several people dead.
Cost-of-living protests erupted across multiple Iranian cities, with shopkeepers in Tehran launching a strike over rising prices and a stagnant economy before unrest spread nationwide. On Thursday, January 1st, clashes turned deadly, with Iranian media reporting at least six fatalities, including protesters and a member of the security forces.
Trump warned that if Iran “shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters,” the United States would “come to their rescue,” adding that Washington was “locked and loaded and ready to go.”
Iranian outlets said two people were killed in the city of Lordegan and three more in Azna during confrontations with security forces, while state television confirmed the death of a security officer in western Kouhdasht.
The demonstrations remain smaller than the mass protests of 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini but the violence has renewed international scrutiny of Tehran’s response to domestic unrest.
