“Happy New Year to Iranians in the streets and Mossad agents beside them”: Mike Pompeo fuels Iran firestorm

As protests spread, US rhetoric hardens — and Iran answers with threats of regional blowback

• Trump warns US will intervene if Iran uses force against peaceful protesters
• Iran threatens US bases if Washington takes aggressive action
• Protests in Iran driven by economic woes and have turned deadly in some cities

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The Iran–US war of words sharpened further after former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo publicly backed President Donald Trump’s threat to intervene if Iranian authorities use lethal force against peaceful protesters — even as senior Iranian figures warned that US forces and bases in the region would be treated as targets if Washington takes “aggressive action.”

Pompeo, posting on X, called Trump’s warning “much-needed moral and strategic clarity” and said the US “stands with the Iranian people and supports their demands for freedom.”

The Iranian regime is in trouble. Bringing in mercenaries is its last best hope. Riots in dozens of cities and the Basij under siege — Mashed, Tehran, Zahedan. Next stop: Baluchistan. 47 years of this regime; POTUS 47. Coincidence? Happy New Year to every Iranian in the…

— Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) January 2, 2026

What Trump said and why it landed like a matchstick

The White House account amplified Trump’s message on social media: if Iran “shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters,” the US would “come to their rescue,” adding, “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”

Iranian officials responded within hours, framing any US interference as crossing a national-security “red line” — language that, in the region, reads less like rhetoric and more like deterrence doctrine.

Pompeo escalates the political signal

Pompeo posted separately that “the Iranian regime is in trouble,” claiming it was turning to “mercenaries,” and pointed to unrest and pressure on the Basij across multiple cities.

One line attributed to Pompeo in circulating screenshots could not be verified from his official X posts in the sources available to this chat, so it should be treated cautiously.

Tehran’s counter-warning: US bases in the region “legitimate targets”

Iran’s parliament speaker issued one of the bluntest official responses, warning that US military bases and forces across the region would be considered “legitimate targets” if the US takes aggressive action.

Ali Shamkhani, a senior aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also warned that any “intervening hand” nearing Iran’s security would be met with a “regret-inducing” response, calling Iran’s national security a “red line.”

What’s driving the protests 

The protests have been driven largely by economic pressure, inflation, a sliding currency, and anger over living costs, and have turned deadly in places, according to multiple reports