A fresh Iran–US confrontation is brewing as President Donald Trump warned Washington would intervene if Iranian authorities used lethal force against peaceful protesters, a threat that drew an immediate and sharp response from Tehran, including a warning that US forces and bases in the region would be treated as “legitimate targets” if the US took aggressive action.
Trump posted the warning on social media as protests spread across Iran and turned violent in parts, with deaths reported in clashes between security forces and demonstrators.
What Trump said
Trump’s message was blunt: if Iran “violently kills peaceful protesters,” the United States would “come to their rescue,” adding the line that instantly ricocheted across the region’s security establishments: “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”
The White House has not publicly laid out what “intervene” would mean in practice, but the phrasing was enough to trigger warnings from senior Iranian figures within hours.
Iran’s response: “red line” and retaliation warnings
Iran’s parliament speaker issued the starkest line, saying US military bases and forces in the region would be considered legitimate targets if the US acted aggressively.
Ali Shamkhani, a senior aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, mocked Trump’s threats by pointing to past US wars and withdrawals, warning that any “intervening hand” nearing Iran’s security would be met with a “regret-inducing” response, and calling Iran’s national security a “red line.”
Other Iranian officials echoed the theme: foreign interference, they said, would not calm Iran’s internal unrest, it would export it across the region.
Why Iran is erupting again
The protests began with anger over the economy, a sharp currency slide, weak growth and rising prices, and have since widened into broader anti-establishment slogans in some areas, according to multiple reports.
Official figures cited by media reports put December inflation at 42.5%, underscoring the pressure on household budgets.
President Masoud Pezeshkian has tried to project a willingness to engage, even as other branches of the state signaled a tougher line against unrest framed as “insecurity.”
A new twist: claims of AI-manufactured protest slogans
As protest videos spread online, Iran’s state-linked figures have alleged some clips and chants were manipulated using artificial intelligence, a claim reported by Iran International.
That charge matters because it signals the information war is now part of the protest battlefield: not just who is on the streets, but what the streets are “saying,” and who gets to authenticate it.
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