UGC images posted on social media on December 31, 2025, show protestors attacking a government building in Fasa, in southern Iran on December 31, amidst spontaneous nationwide protests driven by dissatisfaction at the country's economic stagnation. - / AFP
President Donald Trump said on Friday, January 2, that the United States is "locked and loaded" to respond if Iran kills protesters, prompting Tehran to warn that intervention would destabilize the region. Protesters and security forces clashed in several Iranian cities on Thursday, with at least six reported killed, the first deaths since the unrest escalated.
Shopkeepers in the capital Tehran went on strike Sunday over high prices and economic stagnation, actions that have since spread into a protest movement with political demands that has swept into other parts of the country.
Trump said on his Truth Social platform that "if Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue." "We are locked and loaded and ready to go," he added.
That prompted the head of Iran's top security body, Ali Larijani, to warn Trump that "US interference in this internal matter would mean destabilizing the entire region and destroying America's interest." The US president "should be mindful of their soldiers' safety," Larijani added on X.
