Iranian officials warn Trump not to cross 'red line' over threats to intervene in protests [View all]

Source: the guardian



US president’s posts that US will come to the rescue of protesters prompt warnings of ‘regret-inducing response’
William Christou Fri 2 Jan 2026 08.10 EST

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In a social media post on Friday, Trump said that if Iran were to shoot and kill protesters, the US would “come to their rescue”. He added: “We are locked and loaded, and ready to go”, without explaining what that might mean in practice.

Protests in Iran are in their sixth day, and are the largest since 2022, when the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini triggered demonstrations across the country. The current unrest was triggered by an unprecedented decline in the value of the national currency on Sunday. The Iranian rial dropped to about 1.4m to the US dollar, further harming an already beleaguered economy.

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, called Trump’s statement “reckless and dangerous”, and said the country’s military was on standby. He also said the protests had been mostly peaceful, but that attacks on public property would not be tolerated.

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

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/02/iranian-officials-warn-trump-not-cross-red-line-threats-intervene-protests

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**NOTE-this was yesterday...

Spoken message from Crown Prince @RezaPahlavi
to Iranian people:
"My compatriots, at this moment, the Islamic Republic has reached its end and is in the process of collapse. Khamenei has gone into hiding underground like a scared rat, and has completely lost control of the situation. What has begun cannot be reversed. The future is bright, and together we will break through this dark wall."

Link to tweet

?s=20








In response to Trump’s threat of intervention, Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned that Iran’s national security was a “red line, not material for adventurist tweets”.

“Any intervening hand nearing Iran security....

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

In response to Trump’s threat of intervention, Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned that Iran’s national security was a “red line, not material for adventurist tweets”.

“Any intervening hand nearing Iran security....

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

— (@oceancalm.bsky.social) 2026-01-02T18:26:34.837Z