"If Iran shoots and brutally kills peaceful protesters, something they often do, the US will come to rescue those people. We are prepared and ready to go", US President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on 2/1. He did not specify how the US would act.
Trump's statement came after Iranian media reported on 1/1 that at least 6 people had died in clashes between security forces and protesters, marking the first fatalities in the ongoing unrest.
Responding to President Trump's statement, Ali Larijani, a senior advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, warned that US intervention would lead to chaos across the region.
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US President Donald Trump speaks at a press conference in Mar-a-Lago on 28/12. Photo: AP |
Protests erupted on 28/12, when small business owners in Tehran organized a strike against economic stagnation and rising prices. The movement then spread to other parts of Iran, with students joining the demonstrations.
When the wave of protests began, the free market exchange rate reached 1.42 million rials to one USD, a sharp increase from 820,000 rials a year prior.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian sought to de-escalate tensions by acknowledging the protesters' "legitimate demands" and calling on the government to act to improve the economic situation. "If we do not address the people's livelihoods, we will go to hell", Pezeshkian stated during a televised event.
Despite this, Iranian officials also declared they would take a "firm stance" and demanded that the current situation not be exploited to create chaos.
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Protesters move across a bridge in Tehran, Iran on 29/12. Photo: AFP |
Pham Giang (According to AFP)
