On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a strong warning to Iran, stating that the United States would intervene if Iranian authorities violently target peaceful demonstrators.

“We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” Trump declared in a post on Truth Social.

This development comes in the wake of recent fatalities during Iran’s largest wave of protests in three years. These demonstrations, sparked by economic distress, have turned violent in several provinces.

The confrontations between demonstrators and security forces represent a significant heightening of tensions. The unrest ignited last Sunday when shopkeepers began protesting the government’s response to a dramatic currency devaluation and soaring inflation.

Iran’s economic woes have been exacerbated since 2018, when the U.S. reinstated sanctions after President Trump withdrew from a pivotal international nuclear deal during his first term in office.