‘They’re Going To Get Hit Very Hard’: Trump Doubles Down on Iran Threats as Protest Death Toll Rises
US President Donald Trump on Sunday warned Iran that the United States would respond forcefully if Iranian authorities kill protesters, doubling down on earlier threats as unrest continues to spread across the country.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, President Trump said Washington was closely tracking events inside Iran and signaled that lethal force against demonstrators would cross a red line. “If they start killing people like they have in the past, they’re going to get hit very hard by the United States,” he said. President Trump did not specify what form a US response might take. His remarks came one day after a US operation targeting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a key ally of Tehran.
The warning followed an escalation in protests over the weekend. Demonstrations intensified on Sunday, with at least 30 people reported killed, according to The Media Line.
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Protests were reported overnight in Tehran, Shiraz, and multiple western regions, according to monitoring groups. Demonstrations have now been recorded in most of Iran’s provinces and across dozens of cities, many of them outside the country’s major urban centers.
In western Ilam province, the Norway-based Hengaw organization said Revolutionary Guards opened fire on protesters in Malekshahi county on Saturday, killing four people from Iran’s Kurdish minority. The group said it was reviewing reports of additional fatalities and said dozens were wounded. Hengaw also accused authorities of entering the main hospital in Ilam to remove the bodies of those killed.
Iran Human Rights reported the same death toll in Malekshahi and said at least 30 people were injured when security forces moved against demonstrators. It said funerals were held Sunday, during which mourners chanted slogans against the government and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iranian state media reported that one member of the security forces was killed during clashes with what it described as rioters attempting to storm a police facility, adding that two attackers were also killed.
The protests were triggered by a sharp collapse in Iran’s currency following new United Nations sanctions. The rial has fallen to roughly 1.4 million to the US dollar, while inflation has hovered near 40%, driving steep increases in the cost of basic goods such as meat and rice.
The demonstrations began with traders in Tehran but have since evolved into nationwide protests calling for broader change. In response, the government announced a temporary monthly allowance of about $7 per person for four months.
