Trump Warns of Intervention in Iran Protests Amid Rising Death Toll
Former US President Donald Trump threatened intervention in the ongoing protests in Iran with a locked-and-loaded warning. These demonstrations, which began in Tehran among shopkeepers angered by the rial's sharp fall against the US dollar, have since spread to several cities and included university students chanting anti-clerical slogans. The unrest marks the most widespread protests since the 2022 uprising sparked by Mahsa Amini, although it has not reached that scale.
Iranian authorities have responded firmly. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned Trump's threat as reckless and dangerous, affirming that Iran would reject any interference in its internal affairs, referencing the deployment of the US National Guard. Additionally, an Iranian police spokesman stated that officers would prevent enemies from turning the unrest into chaos.
The protests have resulted in at least eight deaths over the week-long period as of Saturday morning in Tehran, with fatalities reported in Lordegan (Ahmad Jalil and Sajjad Valamanesh), Azna, Kouhdasht, Fuladshahr, and Marvdasht. These figures have not been independently verified by the BBC.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed willingness to listen to the legitimate demands of the protesters. Meanwhile, Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir-Saeid Iravani sent a letter to the UN secretary-general and the Security Council president calling for condemnation of Trump's statements, and affirmed that Iran will exercise its rights decisively, warning that the US bears responsibility for any consequences arising from its stance.
