US is locked, loaded to respond if Iran kills protesters — Trump

United States President, Donald Trump, on Friday warned that the country was “locked and loaded” to act if Iranian authorities kill protesters, as cost-of-living demonstrations across Iran escalated into deadly clashes.

Protests erupted in several Iranian cities on Thursday, with confrontations between demonstrators and security forces leaving at least six people dead, marking the first reported fatalities since the unrest intensified.

In Tehran, shopkeepers shut their businesses on Sunday in protest against rising prices and prolonged economic hardship, a move that later spread to other parts of the country.

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Reacting to the developments, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that “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,” the Republican leader added.

Iran’s Fars news agency reported that two people were killed during clashes with security forces in the city of Lordegan, located in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, while three others died in Azna, in neighbouring Lorestan province.

Earlier, state television reported that a member of Iran’s security forces was killed overnight amid protests in the western city of Kouhdasht.

The current demonstrations are smaller in scale than the widespread unrest seen in 2022, which followed the death in custody of Mahsa Amini after she was arrested for allegedly violating Iran’s strict dress code for women.

That episode triggered nationwide protests and a wave of anger that resulted in the deaths of several hundred people, including dozens of security personnel.

(AFP)