Sweeping anti-government protests in Iran entered their third week on Sunday, despite warnings from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of a harsher crackdown on demonstrators.
US President Donald Trump, who had previously cautioned Tehran against using force against protesters, reiterated his stance on Saturday, stating that Washington stands ready to assist Iran in securing "freedom."
"Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!" Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
On Friday, Trump had warned that the US would intervene if the Iranian government continued to kill protesters. “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,” he had said.
#WATCH | US President Donald Trump says, "Iran is in big trouble. People are taking over certain cities that nobody thought were really possible... We are watching the situation carefully... If they (governemnt of Iran) start killing people as they have in the past, we will get… pic.twitter.com/w7FZNZHnVP
— ANI (@ANI) January 9, 2026
Despite Trump’s warning, Tehran escalated its threats on Saturday. Iran's attorney general, Mohammad Movahedi Azad, stated that anyone participating in protests would be considered an "enemy of God," a charge punishable by the death penalty.
According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, at least 116 people have been killed in the protests and related violence in Iran.
As the protests continued, the government imposed a shutdown of the internet and cut off phone lines, making it difficult to assess the scale of the demonstrations from abroad.
A Reuters report indicated fresh violence across Iran on Saturday night, with state media reporting that a municipal building in Karaj, west of Tehran, was set on fire by “rioters.”
