Trump’s “Locked and Loaded” Warning Raises Stakes With Iran

International

-Gaurav Sharma

Donald
Trump
warned
Iran
against
using
lethal
force
on
protesters
as
demonstrations
over
economic
collapse
spread
nationwide.
Trump
said
the
United
States
was
“locked
and
loaded
and
ready
to
go” if
peaceful
demonstrators
were
shot,
raising
pressure
on
Tehran
while
reports
of
deaths
and
arrests
continued
to
emerge
from
several
provinces.

Iran
was
hit
by
its
largest
protests
in
three
years,
with
unrest
fuelled
by
a
steep
fall
in
the
rial
and
soaring
prices.
Demonstrations
began
with
shopkeepers
and
traders
and
then
widened
to
cities
across
the
country,
where
clashes,
detentions
and
at
least
several
deaths
were
reported
by
state
media
and
rights
groups.

Donald
Trump
Iran
protests
statement
and
threat

Trump
delivered
the
warning
in
a
post
on
Truth
Social.
Trump
wrote:
“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.
Thank
you
for
your
attention
to
this
matter!
President
DONALD
J
TRUMP.” The
message
followed
days
of
rising
violence.

The
protests
recalled
the
2022
nationwide
unrest
after
the
death
of
22-year-old
Mahsa
Jina
Amini
in
police
custody.
Then,
outrage
grew
over
actions
by
Iran’s
morality
police
and
strict
hijab
rules.
Now,
discontent
centred
on
living
costs
and
currency
collapse,
though
slogans
and
anger
again
targeted
authorities
in
multiple
cities
and
provinces.

Donald
Trump
Iran
protests
casualties
and
clashes

Iranian
outlets
and
advocates
reported
deaths
in
several
regions,
though
figures
were
still
unclear.
Reuters
said
it
could
not
immediately
verify
those
claims.
The
semi-official
Fars
news
agency
reported
that
three
protesters
were
killed
and
17
injured
in
Lorestan
province
after
a
crowd
attacked
a
police
station
and
set
vehicles
on
fire
during
clashes
with
officers.

Earlier,
Fars
and
rights
group
Hengaw
reported
fatalities
in
Lordegan
city
in
Charmahal
and
Bakhtiari
province.
Officials
confirmed
one
person
died
in
the
western
city
of
Kuhdasht.
Hengaw
separately
reported
another
death
in
the
central
province
of
Isfahan
and
said
a
protester
was
shot
dead
there
on
Wednesday,
adding
to
the
sense
of
spreading
unrest.

Donald
Trump
Iran
protests
Basij
death
and
local
response

A
separate
demonstration
on
Wednesday
night
reportedly
led
to
the
death
of
a
21-year-old
Basij
volunteer
from
the
Revolutionary
Guard’s
force.
State-run
IRNA
confirmed
the
Guard
member’s
death
but
did
not
share
further
details.
Student
News
Network,
which
is
viewed
as
close
to
the
Basij,
blamed
protesters,
citing
comments
by
Saeed
Pourali,
a
deputy
governor
in
Lorestan
province.

The
city
of
Kouhdasht,
about
400
kilometres
southwest
of
Tehran,
saw
intense
unrest.
According
to
the
judiciary’s
Mizan
news
agency,
local
prosecutor
Kazem
Nazari
said
20
people
were
arrested
there.
Nazari
added
that
calm
had
returned
after
the
arrests,
though
reports
from
activists
suggested
tension
remained
high
in
parts
of
the
region.

Donald
Trump
Iran
protests
economic
roots
and
political
strain

The
protests
began
on
Sunday
when
shopkeepers
rallied
against
the
government’s
handling
of
a
sharp
slide
in
the
rial
and
fast-rising
prices.
Demonstrations
later
spread
to
Tehran
and
other
major
cities,
as
well
as
provinces
including
Lorestan,
Fars,
Kermanshah,
Khuzestan
and
Hamedan.
State
media
reported
detentions
as
security
forces
tried
to
regain
control
of
streets
and
markets.

The
currency
crisis
pushed
the
exchange
rate
to
about
1.4
million
rials
for
one
US
dollar,
deepening
public
anger.
Iran’s
civilian
government,
led
by
reformist
President
Masoud
Pezeshkian,
indicated
willingness
to
talk
with
protesters.
However,
Pezeshkian
acknowledged
that
options
were
limited
while
the
rial
kept
losing
value
and
wider
policy
decisions
remained
beyond
the
government’s
full
control.

Donald
Trump
Iran
protests
leadership
changes
and
security
moves

State
television
reported
that
Mohammad
Reza
Farzin,
head
of
Iran’s
Central
Bank,
stepped
down
as
protests
intensified,
highlighting
pressure
on
economic
managers.
Traders
and
shopkeepers
rallied
along
Saadi
Street
in
central
Tehran
and
near
the
capital’s
Grand
Bazaar,
a
traditional
centre
of
political
mobilisation,
according
to
the
Associated
Press,
adding
a
historic
edge
to
the
demonstrations.

Authorities
announced
Wednesday
as
a
public
holiday
across
much
of
Iran,
citing
cold
weather.
The
move
was
widely
read
as
an
attempt
to
limit
gatherings
and
street
activity.
State
television
also
reported
the
arrest
of
seven
people,
including
five
described
as
monarchists
and
two
allegedly
linked
to
groups
based
in
Europe,
alongside
the
seizure
of
100
smuggled
pistols.

Donald
Trump
Iran
protests
nuclear
backdrop
and
regional
tensions

Iran’s
economy
had
struggled
for
years
under
US
and
wider
Western
sanctions,
especially
after
2018,
when
Trump
pulled
the
United
States
out
of
an
international
nuclear
agreement
during
a
previous
term.
Regional
tensions
added
further
strain,
including
a
12-day
air
war
with
Israel
in
June,
when
the
United
States
also
bombed
Iranian
nuclear
sites.

Iran
said
it
was
no
longer
enriching
uranium
at
any
site
and
signalled
that
it
was
open
to
negotiations
to
ease
sanctions.
Talks
had
not
resumed,
as
Trump
and
Israeli
Prime
Minister
Benjamin
Netanyahu
warned
Tehran
against
reconstituting
its
atomic
programme.
Against
that
backdrop,
Trump’s
new
warning
over
the
protests
added
another
layer
to
already
fraught
US-Iran
relations.