Iran’s foreign minister has condemned President Donald Trump’s warning that the United States would intervene if Iranian security forces kill peaceful protesters, calling the remarks “reckless and dangerous” as tensions between Washington and Tehran escalate, according to BBC News.
The comments from Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi came after Trump declared on social media that the U.S. was “locked and loaded and ready to go” should Iranian authorities violently suppress demonstrations fueled by economic hardship. Trump said the United States would “come to their rescue” if protesters were shot, without clarifying what form such intervention might take.
Araghchi responded sharply, suggesting Iran’s armed forces were on alert and prepared to retaliate in the event of an attack. Writing on X, he accused Trump of hypocrisy, noting the U.S. president’s own deployment of the National Guard during domestic unrest. Iran, he said, would “forcefully reject any interference in its internal affairs.”
The warning comes amid a wave of protests that has spread across Iranian cities over the past week, sparked by the steep decline of the rial against the U.S. dollar. Demonstrations that began with Tehran shopkeepers have widened to include university students and broader anti-government chants.
At least eight deaths have been reported since the unrest began, according to Iranian media and human rights groups, though the BBC and other outlets have not independently verified the figures. Fatalities were reported in cities including Lordegan, Azna, Kouhdasht, Fuladshahr, and Marvdasht, with conflicting accounts over whether the victims were protesters or security personnel.
Iranian authorities have struck a dual tone. President Masoud Pezeshkian said his government would listen to the protesters’ “legitimate demands,” while senior judicial and security officials warned that any attempt to turn unrest into chaos would be met with decisive force. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei echoed that view, distinguishing economic protest from what he called rioting.
Iran has also taken the dispute to the international stage. Its ambassador to the United Nations urged the Security Council to condemn Trump’s remarks, warning that the United States would bear responsibility for any escalation that follows.
The protests mark Iran’s most widespread unrest since the 2022 demonstrations sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, though they remain smaller in scale for now.
