US President Donald Trump said that Iran would be “hit very hard” if more protesters die during demonstrations triggered by economic hardship that entered a second week.
“We’re watching it very closely. If they start killing people like they have in the past, I think they’re going to get hit very hard by the United States,” Mr Trump said aboard Air Force One on Sunday evening, doubling down on earlier threats.
At least 15 deaths have been reported by human rights groups in protests that began a week ago, when the Iranian rial fell to a record low against the US dollar. Authorities have attempted a dual approach to the protests – acknowledging the economic crisis and offering dialogue with demonstrators while meeting more forceful displays of dissent with violence.
Iran’s security and intelligence agencies said they had detained several people accused of "links to foreign-based opposition groups" and of trying to incite unrest under the cover of protests.
In his first public appearance, a week after protests began, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday that people's grievances were justified, but said external forces had incited the unrest, and vowed to crack down on rioters.
“Their point was a valid one,” he said, adding that the rising food prices and currency volatility that triggered the unrest were the work of state "enemies".
Iran’s economy has been under sustained pressure from US and international sanctions linked to its nuclear programme. The rial lost more than a third of its value against the dollar last year, while official data shows annual inflation exceeded 50 per cent in December.
The protests began among traders and shopkeepers in Tehran before spreading to universities in the capital, then to provincial cities, where protesters have been chanting against Iran's clerical rulers. They are the largest demonstrations the country has experienced in the past three years. Although smaller than previous bouts of unrest, they come at a time of economic vulnerability and mounting international pressure.
Mr Trump had on Friday threatened to intervene if Iran suppressed protests, prompting Tehran to threaten US troops. But the latest threats come after the US captured Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, an ally of Tehran, prompting concerns that Mr Trump may attempt regime change elsewhere.
The US President on Sunday also suggested another target for military intervention could be Colombia, whose leftist President Gustavo Petro has been a frequent source of condemnation. He also threatened Mexico and Cuba, while also stating the US “needs” Greenland.
Israeli officials have also made remarks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed solidarity with protesters while opposition leader Yair Lapid said the “regime in Iran should pay close attention to what is happening in Venezuela".
Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo on Saturday claimed that Israel’s spy agency is operating inside Iran as protests spread. “The Iranian regime is in trouble. Bringing in mercenaries is its last best hope,” Mr Pompeo wrote on X. “Riots in dozens of cities and the Basij under siege – Mashhad, Tehran, Zahedan. Next stop: Baluchestan.
“Happy New Year to every Iranian in the streets. Also to every Mossad agent walking beside them."
The unusual remarks came days after a Mossad-linked social media account posted in Farsi, encouraging Iranians to take part in protests and claiming the spy agency would join demonstrators “in the field”.
In June, Mossad had hundreds of agents involved in Israel’s 12-day war, which set back Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missiles programmes, damaged its air defence systems and killed dozens of Tehran's top military and intelligence officials.
For many in Iran, the broader Middle East and beyond, the scale of the breach was shocking. Years of Mossad infiltration enabled internal sabotage with smuggled drones used to strike air defence radars, missile systems and launchers.
