Washington DC, January 11
Amid the protests in Iran, US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States stands ready to help the Middle-Eastern country, which is looking at "Freedom" like never before.
He made the remarks in a post on Truth Social.
Trump said, "Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!"
He also reshared a post by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who was responding to Secretary of State Marco Rubio's post saying, "The United States supports the brave people of Iran".
Graham said, "Well said Rubio. This is truly not the Obama administration when it comes to standing up to the Iranian ayatollah and his religious Nazi henchmen, and standing behind the people of Iran protesting for a better life. To the regime leadership: your brutality against the great people of Iran will not go unchallenged. Make Iran Great Again".
Earlier on Friday, Trump said that the situation in Iran is being monitored very closely and hoped for the protestors in the country to be safe. He warned that if protestors were killed, the US would get involved and would hit the country where it hurts.
"Iran's in big trouble. It looks to me that the people are taking over certain cities that nobody thought were really possible. We're watching the situation very carefully. I made the statement very strongly that if they start killing people like they have in the past, we will get involved. We will be hitting them very hard where it hurts, and that doesn't mean boots on the ground, but it means hitting them very hard where it hurts so we don't want that to happen," the US President said.
He added, "But this is something pretty incredible that is happening in Iran. It's an amazing thing to watch. They've done a bad job, they have treated their people very badly and now they are being paid back, so let's see what happens. We are watching it very closely".
On the protestors, Trump said, "I just hope the protestors in Iran are going to be safe because it is a very dangerous place right now and again I tell the Iranian leaders you better not start shooting because we'll start shooting too".
This comes as protests in Iran have evolved from demonstrations over rising living costs into a nationwide movement calling for the end of the Islamic Republic, which has ruled the country since the 1979 revolution.
As per CNN, the protests have since spread to more than 100 cities.
Iran's Attorney General Mohammad Movahedi Azad has issued a stark warning amid escalating nationwide protests, declaring that anyone participating in the demonstrations or aiding those involved would be treated as an "enemy of God", a charge that carries the death penalty under Iranian law, i24 news reported.
Meanwhile, Iran's former Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who has been living in exile since the 1979 revolution, issued a call for intensified civil resistance. In a message released on Saturday, Pahlavi urged workers in key economic sectors to strike and encouraged protesters to move toward occupying central areas of Tehran.
"I call upon the workers and employees of key economic sectors, especially transportation, oil, gas, and energy, to begin the process of nationwide strikes," Pahlavi said.
He also called on citizens to take to the streets over the weekend, urging coordinated action to reclaim public spaces.
As protests continue across Iran, the situation remains tense, with authorities signalling a hardline response even as international pressure and global scrutiny intensify.
- ANI
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