Berliner Tageblatt - Trump says US will 'come to their rescue' if Iran kills protesters

Protesters and security forces clashed in several Iranian cities on Thursday, with six reported killed, the first deaths since the unrest escalated.

Shopkeepers in the capital Tehran went on strike Sunday over high prices and economic stagnation, actions that have since spread into a protest movement with political demands that has swept into other parts of the country.

Trump said on his Truth Social platform that "if Iran shots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue."

"We are locked and loaded and ready to go," he added.

That prompted the head of Iran's top security body, Ali Larijani, to warn Trump that "US interference in this internal matter would mean destabilizing the entire region and destroying America's interest".

The US president "should be mindful of their soldiers' safety", Larijani added on X.

Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said any US intervention would "be exposed to a response" calling Iran's security a "red line".

Iranian leaders including Larijani and President Masoud Pezeshkian have in recent days described peaceful protests over Iran's dire economy as legitimate and understandable.

Pezeshkian said on Thursday that he and his government would "end up in hell", in the religious sense, if they failed to address economic hardship.

At the same time, officials have warned of a firm response to any instability.

On Friday, the prosecutor of the district of Lorestan, Ali Hasavand, was quoted on the Iranian judiciary's Mizan website as saying "any participation in illegal gatherings and any action aimed at disturbing public order, destroying property, disobeying law enforcement, inciting illegal gatherings... constitute crimes and will be treated with the greatest firmness by the courts".

"Certain opportunistic and hostile individuals are trying to undermine public security and peace by sowing chaos, disorder and committing murder. The justice system and the police will act with firmness and without any leniency against the rioters and those who undermine public security," he added.

- Battered economy -

Iran's economy has been battered by years of crushing international sanctions over its nuclear programme, with raging inflation and a collapsing currency.

The protest movement comes at a time in which Iran has been weakened following major blows dealt to its regional allies, including in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.

Iran's Fars news agency reported on Thursday that two people were killed in clashes between security forces and protesters in the city of Lordegan, in the province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, and three in Azna, in neighbouring Lorestan province.

State television reported earlier that a member of Iran's security forces was killed overnight during protests in the western city of Kouhdasht.

The protests have affected 15 cities, largely in the west of the country, according to reporting in Iranian media.

The demonstrations are smaller than the last major incident in 2022, triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for allegedly violating Iran's strict dress code for women.

Her death sparked a nationwide wave of anger that left several hundred people dead including dozens of members of the security forces.

Iran was also gripped by nationwide protests that began in late 2019 over a rise in fuel prices, eventually leading to calls to topple the country's clerical rulers.

M.Ouellet--BTB