Trump warns Iran of US action if protesters are shot: ‘You better not start shooting because we’ll start shooting too’ | Today News

US President Donald Trump issued warnings to Iran’s leadership, saying Washington would intervene if Iranian authorities used lethal force against demonstrators as nationwide protests over economic hardship entered their second week.

“I tell the Iranian leaders — you better not start shooting because we’ll start shooting, too,” Trump said on Friday (January 9) during a meeting with oil executives.

The warning comes amid Iran’s biggest unrest in three years, with demonstrations spreading across multiple provinces and reports of dozens of deaths as rallies turned violent.

Iran’s Prosecutor General Mohammad Movahedi Azad escalated the government’s response on Saturday (January 10), warning that anyone participating in protests — or even those who “helped rioters” — would be considered an “enemy of God,” a charge that carries the death penalty under Iranian law.

“Prosecutors must carefully and without delay, by issuing indictments, prepare the grounds for the trial and decisive confrontation,” Azad said in remarks reported by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.

“Proceedings must be conducted without leniency, compassion or indulgence.”

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has signaled a coming clampdown, despite repeated warnings from Washington.

Trump publicly voiced support for Iranian demonstrators on January 10, posting on Truth Social: “Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!”

The protests began in Tehran on December 28, when shopkeepers took to the streets over a sharp currency slide, soaring inflation and prolonged economic stagnation.

Iran’s economy has struggled since the United States reimposed sanctions in 2018 after Trump withdrew from the international nuclear agreement. The Iranian rial has lost more than a third of its value against the US dollar over the past year, eroding purchasing power and pushing basic necessities out of reach for many households.

As sanctions tightened and Iran struggled in the aftermath of its June conflict with Israel, the currency fell sharply again in December, triggering widespread unrest.

Trump has repeatedly warned Iran against killing protesters, threatening US retaliation if violence escalates.

“If they start killing people like they have in the past, I think they’re going to get hit very hard by the United States,” Trump said on January 5.

Earlier, on January 2, he issued a stronger warning: “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.”

Asked later about reports of deaths, Trump added: “We’ll take a look. We’re watching it very closely.”

Iran has largely cut itself off from the outside world, shutting down internet access and international phone lines, making it difficult to independently assess the protests.

At least 72 people have been killed and more than 2,300 detained so far, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. Iranian state television has focused instead on casualties among security forces while insisting authorities remain in control.