Iran’s foreign minister has described US President Donald Trump’s warning that Washington would intervene if peaceful protesters are killed in Iran as “reckless and dangerous.”
Abbas Araghchi made the remarks following a brief social media post by Trump in which he stated that the United States “will come to their rescue” for demonstrators taking part in protests over the country’s economic situation. Trump wrote: “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”
In response, Araghchi indicated that Iran’s armed forces were on alert and “know exactly where to aim” in the event of an attack.
At least eight people have reportedly died during the week-long protests as of Saturday morning. On Friday, Trump wrote: “If Iran shots [sic] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue.” The US president, however, did not provide any details about the nature of actions Washington might undertake. In the past, the United States has conducted strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, which prompted retaliatory attacks on a US base in Qatar.
“Given President Trump’s deployment of the National Guard within US borders, he of all people should know that criminal attacks on public property cannot be tolerated,” Araghchi wrote on X, Iran’s state-monitored social media platform. He further emphasized that Iran would “forcefully reject any interference in their internal affairs.”
Meanwhile, an Iranian police spokesman stated that officers would prevent what he described as “enemies” from turning the unrest into chaos.
The demonstrations have spread to multiple cities and towns, with reports of ongoing clashes between security forces and protesters.
The protests originated in Tehran, triggered by shopkeepers’ anger over another sharp decline in the value of the Iranian currency, the rial, against the US dollar on the open market. By Tuesday, university students had joined the protests, which expanded to several cities, with participants chanting against the country’s clerical leadership.
In the south-western city of Lordegan, two individuals were reported killed during confrontations between protesters and security forces, according to the semi-official Fars news agency and human rights group Hengaw. Hengaw identified the deceased as protesters Ahmad Jalil and Sajjad Valamanesh. Three people were killed in Azna, while one death occurred in Kouhdasht, all in western Iran, according to Fars, which did not clarify whether the fatalities were demonstrators or security personnel. Additional deaths were reported in Fuladshahr in central Iran and Marvdasht in the south. The BBC has not been able to independently verify these reports.
These demonstrations are the most widespread since the 2022 uprising triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who died in custody after being accused by morality police of not wearing her veil properly, although the current protests have not reached the same scale.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has stated that he will listen to the “legitimate demands” of protesters. However, the country’s Prosecutor General, Mohammad Movahedi-Azad, warned that any attempt to incite instability would be met with a “decisive response.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, echoed this position, acknowledging that shopkeepers’ economic grievances were “completely fair,” while asserting that any “rioters must be put in their place.”
In addition, Iran’s UN Ambassador, Amir-Saeid Iravani, called on the UN Security Council to condemn Trump’s statement in a letter to the UN Secretary-General and the Council’s president on Friday, according to Reuters.
“Iran will exercise its rights decisively and proportionately. The United States of America bears full responsibility for any consequences arising from these unlawful threats and any ensuing escalation,” Iravani wrote in the letter.
