US President Donald Trump has threatened Iranian authorities with “action” if they continue to crack down on protests that erupted in the country in the final days of 2025 due to worsening economic conditions and political oppression.
“If Iran shoots and brutally kills peaceful protesters, as it usually does, the United States of America will come to their aid. We are ready for action,” the US leader wrote on his own Truth Social network on 2 January.
The US president’s statement came on the sixth day of protests in Iran, which are taking place in different cities of the country, Radio Farda (the Iranian service of Radio Liberty) writes.
The Wall Street Journal had earlier urged the Trump administration to support the protesters in Iran. The publication warned Donald Trump against repeating “Barack Obama’s mistake,” referring to the US government’s silence in 2009 to suppress Iranian protests in the hope of reaching a nuclear deal with Tehran.
Islamic Republic officials have remained silent on the number of possible casualties during the protests, state media, including those close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, have reported at least five deaths. Many of the deaths were caused by gunfire from security forces and police.
In an exclusive response to Radio Farda, the US State Department emphasised that the Iranian government is spending the country’s wealth on terrorism, and therefore the anger of the Iranian people is understandable. The statement said the Islamic Republic has ignored the needs of the people for decades to “spend billions of dollars on its terrorist proxies and nuclear activities.”
The protests began in Tehran on 28 December. They were triggered by the collapse of the Iranian currency’s exchange rate, with the US dollar and inflation rising to 52 per cent. They subsequently spread to several regions.
State media and international human rights groups on 1 January reported at least seven deaths and dozens injured in clashes between protesters and security forces, although government news agencies blamed the violence on what they called “rioters”.