https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/trump-threatens-iran-over-protest-deaths-unrest-flares-2026-01-02/DUBAI, Jan 2 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Friday to come to the aid of protesters in Iran if security forces fired on them, days into unrest that has left several dead and posed the biggest internal threat to Iranian authorities in years."We are locked and loaded and ready to go," he said in a social media post. The United States bombed Iranian nuclear facilities in June, joining an Israeli air campaign that targeted Tehran's atomic programme and military leadership.Responding to Trump's comments, top Iranian official Ali Larijani warned that U.S. interference in domestic Iranian issues would amount to a destabilisation of the entire Middle East. Iran backs proxy forces in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.The comments came as a local official in western Iran, where several deaths were reported, was cited by state media as warning that any unrest or illegal gatherings would be met "decisively and without leniency".This week's protests over soaring inflation are so far smaller than some previous bouts of unrest in Iran, but have spread across the country, with deadly confrontations between demonstrators and security forces focused in western provinces.State-affiliated media and rights groups have reported at least 10 deaths since Wednesday, including one man who authorities said was a member of the Basij paramilitary force affiliated with the elite Revolutionary Guards.The Islamic Republic's clerical leadership has seen off repeated eruptions of unrest in recent decades, often quelling protests with heavy security measures and mass arrests. But economic problems may leave authorities more vulnerable now.This week's protests are the biggest since nationwide demonstrations triggered by the death of a young woman in custody in 2022 paralysed Iran for weeks, with rights groups reporting hundreds killed.
Trump did not specify what sort of action the U.S. could take in support of the protests.Washington has long imposed broad financial sanctions on Tehran, in particular since Trump’s first term when, in 2018, he pulled the U.S. out of Iran's nuclear deal with world powers and declared a “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran.Video verified by Reuters showed dozens of people gathered in front of a burning police station overnight, as gunshots sporadically rang out and people shouted "shameless, shameless" at the authorities.In the southern city of Zahedan, where Iran's Baluch minority predominates, the human rights news group Hengaw reported that protesters had chanted slogans including "Death to the dictator".Hengaw has reported at least 80 arrests so far over the unrest, mostly in the west, and including 14 members of Iran's Kurdish minority.State television also reported the arrest of an unspecified number of people in another western city, Kermanshah, accused of manufacturing petrol bombs and homemade pistols. Iranian media also said two heavily armed individuals were arrested in central and western Iran before they could carry out attacks.The deaths acknowledged by official or semi-official Iranian media have been in the small western cities of Lordegan and Kuhdasht. Hengaw also reported that a man was killed in Fars province in central Iran, though state news sites denied this.Rights groups and social media posts reported protests in a number of cities late on Friday.Reuters could not verify all the reports of unrest, arrests or deaths.
>>1470799>In my opinion, we are in a full-fledged war with America, Israel and Europe.Welp.
War monger trump is at it again.
I sincerely hope he starts a live war with Iran. It would be hilarious.
>>1470833tRump had Weapons Of Mass Distraction
>>1470833You mean when Trump and Israel bombed Iran and then Iran shut up and did nothing?
>>1471331They shot back at israel and that us base, they don't actually want to be in a war with america and israel (they know they'll lose) it's a votes thing.
>>1471331You mean when the retard ayatollah attacks his own people for wanting water?
>>1471615Those retarded people were the ones who ended their underground water reserves, everyone was opening wells in their backyard then went pikachu face when it ran out
>>1470833He would do anything to distract from Epstein so I’m curious who he will invade next. That said it’s obvious China and Russia will do absolutely nothing if the US and Israel decide to curbstomp the ayatollah
>>1471630The Epstein files are the distractionRemember a few months ago, within 48 hours of the longest shutdown in American history, everyone moved on to a new round of Epstein files?
>>1471793>The Epstein files are the distraction>From uh... uh........>From something
>>1471828https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_United_States_federal_government_shutdownDate October 1 – November 12, 2025(43 days)https://oversight.house.gov/release/oversight-committee-releases-additional-epstein-estate-documents/Published: Nov 12, 2025 WASHINGTON—The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released an additional 20,000 pages of documents received from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein. The documents can be found here.
>>1471870god you're esl
>>1471882We needed to move on from discussing why the government experienced the longest shutdown in US history, and what compromises allowed the government to re-open after the longest shutdown in history, to talk about 20,000 more pages of the Epstein files.The files were the distraction, the noise. The shutdown was the signal. And ignoring that signal to focus on the epstein files.Think of it like the country is a patient, a government shutdown is like the heart of government stopped beating for 43 days. That is not good for the prognosis of the country. And a dead pedophile who got arrested and died 7 years ago isn't meaningful for the prognosis of America
>>1471884So the healthcare thing? The thing that is now happening and driving up premiums?Also the partdown was partially a distraction FROM Epstein. Johnson refused to certify the last vote for releasing them until afterwards when he had no choice. And it is very concerning that the President is confirmed to be actively covering for pedophiles and is almost certainly one himself.
>>1471899It's really not driving up premiums. Turns out you fell for an ad campaign from insurance companies, and you're all like, "Take my money, please!!!!"
