Trump warning that US will intervene over Iran protests branded ‘reckless’ by foreign minister

Iran’s foreign minister has branded Donald Trump’s warning “reckless and dangerous” after he said the US will intervene if peaceful protesters are killed.

The US president posted a statement on Truth social which read: "If Iran shots [sic] 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.”

Although it is not clear what the US would do in response to any killings, in the past Trump has carried out strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, which led to retaliatory strikes on a US base in Qatar.

In response to Trump’s latest statement, Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, said the country’s armed forces were prepared on standby and "know exactly where to aim" in the event of an attack.

As of Saturday morning, at least eight people have reportedly died during the week-long protests held in Iran. The protests are largely against the collapse of the country’s currency and calling for the overthrow of the supreme leader Ayatollah Kamenei.

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Many of the country’s economic hardships have persisted since the US first imposed tariffs on the country’s government in 2018.

Araghchi said that Iranians impacted by ”a transient exchange rate volatility have recently been peacefully protesting, as is their right.”

But he warned that that “separate to that” there have been “isolated incidents of violent riots—including attacks on a police station and throwing of Molotov cocktails at police officers”.

An eyewitness video has been circulating online which showcases cars burning and overturned outside a police station in Azna, Iran, in what experts are calling the biggest protests in the nation for years.

Araghchi said: “Given President Trump’s deployment of the National Guard within U.S. borders, he of all people should know that criminal attacks on public property cannot be tolerated.

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“This is why President Trump’s message today, likely influenced by those who fear diplomacy or mistakenly believe it is unnecessary, is reckless and dangerous.

“As in the past, the Great People of Iran will forcefully reject any interference in their internal affairs. Similarly, our Powerful Armed Forces are on standby and know exactly where to aim in the event of any infringement of Iranian sovereignty.”

Similarly, Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to the Ayatollah, “Iranians know US “rescue” record well, from Iraq and Afghanistan to Gaza. Any intervening hand-nearing Iran Security on pretexts will be cut off with a regret inducing response. Iran’s national security is a red line, not material for adventurist tweets.”