Tensions between the United States and Iran intensified on Friday as U.S. President Donald Trump and senior Iranian officials exchanged sharp threats amidst growing economic unrest in Iran. Protests have erupted across the nation following the U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June, further straining the already fragile relationship between the two countries.

Taking to his Truth Social platform, President Trump issued a stern warning to Iran, cautioning against any violent crackdown on peaceful demonstrators. “If Iran violently kills peaceful protesters, the United States will come to their rescue,” Trump declared. The unrest, partly triggered by the plummeting value of the Iranian rial, has resulted in at least seven deaths linked to the protests.

In a display of escalating rhetoric, Trump added, “We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” without providing further details.

Meanwhile, Ali Larijani, a former speaker of Iran’s parliament and current secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, responded on the social media platform X. He accused Israel and the U.S. of inciting the protests, though he did not present any evidence to support his claims. This narrative has been frequently employed by Iranian officials during recurring waves of civil unrest.

“Trump should know that U.S. interference in our domestic issues could lead to chaos across the region and imperil U.S. interests,” Larijani stated on X, a platform that is officially blocked by the Iranian government. “The American people should understand that Trump has initiated this adventurism and should be mindful of their soldiers’ safety.”

Larijani’s remarks likely referenced America’s wide military footprint in the region. Iran in June attacked Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar after the U.S. strikes on three nuclear sites during Israel’s 12-day war on the Islamic Republic.

Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who previously was the council’s secretary for years, warned that “any interventionist hand that gets too close to the security of Iran will be cut.”

“The people of Iran properly know the experience of ‘being rescued’ by Americans: from Iraq and Afghanistan to Gaza,” he added on X.

The current protests, now in their sixth day, have become the biggest in Iran since 2022, when the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody triggered nationwide demonstrations. However, the demonstrations have yet to be countrywide and have not been as intense as those surrounding the death of Amini, who was detained over not wearing her hijab, or headscarf, to the liking of authorities.

Iran’s civilian government under reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian has been trying to signal it wants to negotiate with protesters. However, Pezeshkian has acknowledged there is not much he can do as Iran’s rial has rapidly depreciated, with $1 now costing some 1.4 million rials. That sparked the initial protests.

The protests, taking root in economic issues, have heard demonstrators chant against Iran’s theocracy as well.

Months after the war, Iran said it was no longer enriching uranium at any site in the country, trying to signal to the West that it remains open to potential negotiations over its atomic program to ease sanctions. However, those talks have yet to happen as Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have warned Tehran against reconstituting its atomic program.