President Donald Trump escalated tensions with Iran on Thursday after issuing a direct warning following a private meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, declaring the U.S. is prepared for war if the Iranian regime continues its violent crackdown on protesters.
Trump took to Truth Social after the meeting, sending a blunt message to Tehran as anti-regime demonstrations spread across Iran following the collapse of the country’s currency.
The president said the United States would intervene if Iran’s leaders crossed a red line.
“If the Iranian regime violently kills peaceful protesters, the United States will come to their rescue,” Trump wrote. “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”
The warning came as protests entered their sixth day, with at least seven people reported dead as Iranian security forces moved to suppress unrest fueled by economic collapse and runaway inflation.
The Iranian rial has plunged to record lows, wiping out savings and sparking mass anger in major cities. Protesters have chanted against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and demanded an end to the regime’s grip on power.
Iranian officials immediately blamed outside forces. Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, accused the United States and Israel of inciting chaos.
“Trump began the adventurism,” Larijani wrote. “The people of the U.S. should know that chaos will destroy their interests.”
Trump’s remarks followed a high-profile New Year’s Eve meeting with Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, the only foreign leader to meet with the president during the holiday.
The meeting revived speculation about renewed US-Israeli military coordination after last year’s Operation Midnight Hammer, when Trump authorized B-2 bombers to strike Iranian nuclear facilities.
That operation marked the most direct U.S. attack on Iran in decades and triggered Iranian missile retaliation against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, per the Daily Mail.
Iranian officials warned again on Thursday that further intervention would be met with force. A senior adviser to Khamenei said, “Any interventionist hand that gets too close to Iran’s security will be cut.”
Trump has repeatedly framed his posture as deterrence, not provocation, arguing that strength is the only language Tehran understands.
The warning also exposes growing fractures within the Republican Party. Some MAGA-aligned figures have criticized continued support for Israel, arguing that foreign entanglements distract from domestic priorities.
Trump has dismissed that criticism, maintaining that stopping Iran’s aggression is essential to global stability and American security.
The protests are the largest Iran has seen since 2022, when the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody ignited nationwide unrest. While the demonstrations have not yet reached that scale, intelligence officials warn the situation remains volatile.
With Tehran defiant and Washington signaling readiness, the standoff risks escalating into a broader regional conflict with global consequences.
