The president stated that America is “locked and loaded” and prepared to act at any time
US President Donald Trump has pledged to help Iranian protesters should the need arise, noting that Washington is ready to step in at any point. Iran has faced its most severe unrest since 2022, sparked by an economic downturn.
The protests started in late December when Tehran-based merchants went on strike after the national currency, the rial, hit an all-time low of roughly 1.44 million to the dollar—compared to 860,000 just a year earlier.
Since then, the demonstrations have spread to numerous cities across Iran and turned political and violent. Online-circulated videos indicated that crowds have attacked government buildings and facilities linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), setting them ablaze.
“If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday. “We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” he added.
Casualties have been reported among both demonstrators and security forces. Iran’s archrival Israel is openly backing the unrest; its Mossad spy agency is cheering on the protesting crowds and claims to have agents on the ground.
On Friday, Tehran warned Trump against crossing a “red line” with what it called “adventurist tweets.”
“Iranians know US ‘rescue’ record well, from Iraq and Afghanistan to Gaza,” Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, wrote in a post on X.
“Any intervening hand nearing Iran’s security on [any] pretexts will be cut off with a regret-inducing response,” the official said.
Last year, the US launched strikes on Iran under Trump’s orders. In summer 2025, it joined Israel in a series of coordinated airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, asserting the actions were meant to prevent the country from advancing its nuclear program.
Tehran denied seeking nuclear weapons and condemned the attack as an unprovoked violation of its sovereignty.