New Delhi: As reports emerged of seven deaths in protests across Iran, US President Donald Trump issued a stark warning Friday, declaring that America was “locked and loaded and ready to go” if Tehran used lethal force against peaceful demonstrators. Trump’s warning, posted on his social media platform Truth Social, mark one of the most direct US threats in recent years over Iran’s handling of unrest that is rooted in economic hardship.
“If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue,” Trump wrote.
Protests that began as economic demonstrations have escalated into violent confrontations between civilians and security forces. At least seven people were killed in clashes across multiple provinces on 31 December and 1 January, according to international reports.
Human rights groups and international outlets documented fatalities in western and central regions, with clashes reported in cities including Lordegan, Azna, and Kuhdasht.
In some incidents, state-linked outlets reported that a security personnel was killed in a confrontation with protesters.
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Protests, clashes & casualties
Protests began in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar around 27 December 2025. Reports said shopkeepers shut their stores in response to the rapid depreciation of the Iranian rial. The currency hit a record low, with $1 now costing 1.4 million rials, while inflation has soared.
The rial’s sharp decline against the dollar has driven up import costs and squeezed living standards.
From that commercial epicentre, demonstrations spread to cities, including Isfahan, Shiraz, Mashhad, Hamadan and Kermanshah, as well as rural provinces such as Lorestan, Khuzestan, and Fars.
Early demonstrations, which focused on cost-of-living issues, quickly broadened into larger criticism of Iran’s political system and leadership.
In some areas, protesters clashed with riot police and shouted slogans directly targeting the country’s clerical leadership, including chants against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
According to reports, authorities stepped up their response as protests continued into their fifth day. Security forces in some cities reportedly used live ammunition and tear gas to disperse crowds. Details from human rights and news agencies suggest that both protesters and members of the paramilitary have been killed.
Video footage circulating online shows clashes, purportedly in towns like Fasa and Kuhdasht. Reports indicate demonstrators stormed certain government buildings, prompting forceful responses from police and security units.
Iran’s stand
Iranian officials have had a mixed response to the unrest. While some State figures warned of a decisive response to what they describe as threats to national stability, others acknowledged the legitimacy of citizen grievances.
President Masoud Pezeshkian, a reformist leader, called for unity in the face of economic challenges and insisted that external forces were trying to sow division. Speaking at a business forum in Tehran on 31 December 2025, Pezeshkian suggested foreign interference was to blame for the unrest.
“We are in a situation where external pressures are being exerted by the country’s enemies and, unfortunately, within the country as well,” he said.
“Right now, the enemy has placed most of its hopes on knocking us down through economic pressure. You cannot conquer a nation with bombs, fighter jets, or missiles. And if they were to confront this nation on the ground, if we remain determined, united, and committed to working together to make our country proud, it would be impossible for them to bring Iran to its knees,” he added.
However, there has been no indication of a broad policy shift or immediate concessions in response to the protests, and state media have focused heavily on scenes of clashes and arrests.
Tehran’s reaction to Trump
Trump’s warning has, in turn, prompted Iranian officials to accuse the US and its allies of attempting to stoke unrest, a stance Tehran has taken repeatedly during past protest waves. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council secretary Ali Larijani framed the protests as part of broader foreign interference, though such claims have not been independently substantiated.
“Trump should know that intervention by the US in the domestic problem corresponds (to) chaos in the entire region and the destruction of the US interests,” Larijani wrote on X, which the Iranian government blocks. “The people of the U.S. should know that Trump began the adventurism. They should take care of their own soldiers,” he added.
Protests erupt after years
The protests are amongst the most serious outbursts of popular anger in Iran in years. The last time the country saw widespread demonstrations was in 2022, when the death of Mahsa Amini angered people.
Amini died in custody after she was detained for not wearing a hijab, a diktat that the Iranian regime says is mandatory for all women in public areas.
The movement, which calls for social freedom and political reform, brought millions into the streets. The state, at the time, responded with a deadly crackdown on protesters.
(Edited by Prerna Madan)
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