Trump says US ‘ready to help’ as Iran protests continue

WEST PALM BEACH: US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States was “ready to help” as anti-government protests in Iran continued and authorities in Tehran signalled a tougher crackdown on demonstrators.

“Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!” Trump wrote in a social media post, without giving further details.

His comments came as Iran’s leadership warned it could intensify action against the largest wave of protests in years, with the Revolutionary Guards blaming unrest on “terrorists” and vowing to protect the ruling system.

After nightfall on Saturday, new videos posted online purported to show fresh protests in a number of neighbourhoods in the capital Tehran and several cities, including Rasht in the north, Tabriz in the north-west and Shiraz and Kerman in the south. Reuters could not immediately verify the latest videos.

The exiled son of Iran’s last shah, who has emerged as a prominent voice in the fragmented opposition, made his strongest call yet for the protests to broaden into a revolt to topple the clerical rulers.

State media said a municipal building was set on fire in Karaj, west of Tehran, and blamed “rioters”. State TV broadcast footage of funerals of members of the security forces it said were killed in protests in the cities of Shiraz, Qom and Hamedan.

Footage posted on Friday on social media showed large crowds gathered in Tehran and fires lit in the street. In one video verified by Reuters showing a night-time protest in Tehran’s Saadatabad district, a man is heard saying the crowd had taken over the area.

Protests have spread across Iran since December 28, beginning in response to soaring inflation, and quickly turning political with protesters demanding an end to the incumbent government. Authorities accuse the US and Israel of fomenting unrest.

A senior US intelligence official described the situation as an “endurance game”. The opposition was trying to keep up pressure until key government figures either flee or switch sides, while the authorities were trying to sow enough fear to clear the streets without giving the United States justification to intervene, the official said.

Iranian rights group HRANA says at least 50 protesters and 15 security personnel have been killed, and some 2,300 arrested.

Army says ‘terrorist groups’ seek to undermine security

The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported the arrest of 100 “armed rioters” in the town of Baharestan near Tehran.

In a statement broadcast by state TV, the IRGC – an elite force which has suppressed previous bouts of unrest – accused “terrorists” of targeting military and law enforcement bases over the past two nights. It said several citizens and security personnel had been killed and public and private property set on fire.

Safeguarding the achievements of the Islamic revolution and maintaining security was a “red line”, it added.

The regular military also issued a statement saying it would “protect and safeguard national interests, the country’s strategic infrastructure, and public property”.

Pahlavi says goal is to prepare to ‘seize city centres’

In a video posted on X, US-based Reza Pahlavi, 65, whose father was toppled as Iran’s shah in the 1979 revolution, said the Islamic Republic would be brought “to its knees”. He called for people to seize the centres of their towns, and said he was preparing to return soon to Iran.

“Our goal is no longer merely to come into the streets; the goal is to prepare to seize city centres and hold them,” he said.

A doctor in north-western Iran said that since Friday, large numbers of injured protesters had been brought to hospitals. Some were badly beaten, suffering head injuries and broken legs and arms, as well as deep cuts.

At least 20 people in one hospital had been shot with live ammunition, five of whom later died.

Trump said on Thursday he was not inclined to meet Pahlavi, a sign that he was waiting to see how the crisis plays out before backing an opposition leader.

Iran’s rulers have weathered repeated bouts of unrest, including student protests in 1999, over a disputed election in 2009, against economic hardships in 2019, and in 2022 over the death in custody of a woman accused of violating dress codes.

Trump, who joined Israel to strike Iran’s nuclear sites last summer, has included Iran in lists of places in which he could intervene since sending forces to seize the president of Venezuela a week ago. On Friday, in a warning to Iran’s leaders, he said: “You better not start shooting because we’ll start shooting too.”

On Friday, Khamenei accused protesters of acting on behalf of Trump, saying rioters were attacking public properties and warning that Tehran would not tolerate people acting as “mercenaries for foreigners”.