Trump government watches Iranian protests for potential regime change
A senior US official said, “The protests are serious, and we will continue to monitor them.” Earlier assessments concluded that demonstrations, which began in late December, were not strong enough to topple the Iranian leadership, but officials are now reevaluating after the protests gained momentum later in the week.
The unrest in Iran has been driven by a sharp decline in the value of the rial and worsening economic conditions. Demonstrations began on December 28 near Tehran’s Grand Bazaar and have since spread to multiple cities. Internet access in the country has reportedly been cut for more than 12 hours.
Official casualty figures have not been released by Iranian authorities. Reports indicate that at least 2,277 people have been arrested, dozens injured, and 42 killed, including eight security personnel. Iranian officials have blamed the United States and Israel for fomenting the unrest and warned that security forces and the judiciary “will show no tolerance whatsoever toward saboteurs.”
US President Donald Trump warned on January 2 that the United States would act if peaceful protesters were killed, stating, “If Iran violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the US will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”
In later comments, Trump attributed some deaths during the protests to crowd control issues and stampedes. He said, “Well, some were killed because of, you know, crowd control issues and other things. I don't know.” He added that he is closely monitoring the situation, noting the large size of the gatherings.
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