Trump and Iranian Officials Trade Threats as Protests Spread Across Iran

Donald Trump and senior Iranian officials exchanged threats as nationwide protests spread across Iran following a currency collapse. While Trump warned of possible US intervention if protesters are violently suppressed, Iranian leaders accused Washington and Israel of fueling unrest and cautioned against foreign interference, as analysts stressed that lasting change in Iran must come from within.

US President Donald Trump and a senior Iranian security official exchanged sharp threats on Friday as protests continued to spread across several parts of Iran, raising fears of further violence and regional instability.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump warned that the United States would intervene if Iranian authorities continued to crack down violently on demonstrators. He wrote that “if Iran shots [sic] and violently kills peaceful protesters,” the US would step in, adding the phrase, “We are locked and loaded.”
Trump’s comments came amid reports from human rights organizations that multiple people have been killed by Iranian security forces during the country’s largest wave of protests since 2022. That earlier unrest followed the death of 22-year-old Jina Mahsa Amini while in police custody, an incident that sparked widespread demonstrations across the country.
Responding to Trump’s remarks, Ali Larijani, a former speaker of Iran’s parliament and the current secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, accused the United States and Israel of instigating and fueling the protests. He warned that any American intervention would plunge the region into chaos.
“The people of the US should know that Trump began the adventurism. They should take care of their own soldiers,” Larijani wrote in a post on X.
The latest protests erupted last Sunday after a dramatic collapse of Iran’s currency, with the exchange rate falling to around 1.4 million rials to one US dollar. What began as demonstrations by traders in Tehran has since expanded into nationwide protests calling for sweeping political and economic change.
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of the Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights, told DW that protesters are now openly demanding a change of regime. He said the authorities appear to be left with only two choices: either step down or resort to violence.
“I don’t think that authorities have any other option,” he said. “Either they should give up or they should use violence, and based on what we have seen in previous protests, unfortunately, they are going to use heavier violence against protesters.”
On Thursday, severe unrest in western Iran reportedly left several people dead following clashes between protesters and security forces.
Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also issued a warning, cautioning against any foreign intervention. Referring to past US military involvement in the Middle East, he said Iranians were well aware of what it meant to be “rescued” by Americans, citing Iraq, Afghanistan and Gaza as examples.
He added that “any interventionist hand that gets too close to the security of Iran will be cut,” signaling a firm stance against external involvement.
Iran’s economy has been under sustained pressure for years, particularly since the United States reimposed sanctions in 2018 after Trump withdrew from the international nuclear agreement during his first term in office.
Tensions escalated further in June 2025 when the US military joined Israel in direct military action against Iran, bombing Iranian nuclear facilities. Iran responded by striking a US military base in Qatar, bringing the two countries close to open confrontation.
Despite his strong language, Trump’s social media statements offered little detail about what specific actions the United States might take.
Scott Lucas, a professor of American studies at University College Dublin, told DW that any meaningful change in Iran must come from within the country rather than being imposed externally.
“Change, if it is going to come, cannot be imposed on Iran from the outside,” Lucas said. He warned that overt support for violent opposition could give Iranian authorities justification to intensify their crackdown.
“You have to be very, very careful not to be seen endorsing violence against the regime because you will give them the pretext to strike back and strike back hard,” he said.
Lucas added that the most effective approach would be to support peaceful reform efforts, including demands for women’s rights, economic justice, and social freedoms, while closely monitoring and amplifying the voices of nonviolent protesters.