By Guy Birchall
President Donald Trump on Jan. 2 vowed to come to the aid of protesters in Iran if they are killed by the regime in Tehran.
Several people have already been killed in the Islamic Republic after demonstrations over the nation’s ailing economy turned violent, Iranian media and rights groups reported on Jan. 1.
If Iran shoots and “violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“We are locked and loaded and ready to go. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President Donald J.Trump,” he added.
Trump’s post soon elicited a response from the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Ali Larijani, who wrote on X, which is banned in the country, that Iran distinguished between protestors and “disruptive actors.”
“Trump should know that U.S. interference in this internal matter would mean destabilizing the entire region and destroying America’s interests,” the former parliamentary speaker said.
“The American people should know—Trump started this adventurism. They should be mindful of their soldiers’ safety.”
The Norway-based Kurdish NGO Hengaw, which details human rights violations in Iran and the area known as Kurdistan, part of which lies on Iranian territory, put the total number of dead at seven late on Jan. 1.
The Fars news agency reported that three protestors were killed and 17 were injured in a police station attack in Iran’s western province of Lorestan.
Hengaw later reported that one of the trio who lost their lives in Lorestan was a 15-year-old boy, and that a total of 29 people had been arrested.
The protests have escalated as the biggest in Iran since 2022, when the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody sparked nationwide unrest.
The protestors entered the police headquarters at around 6 p.m. local time on Jan. 1 and clashed with police and set fire to several police cars, according to Fars.
Responding to the government’s management of a sharp currency slide and rapidly rising prices, shopkeepers began protesting on Dec. 28, 2025. Clashes between protestors and security forces have intensified since then.
Iran’s clerical rulers are dealing with Western sanctions that have devastated an economy already struggling with more than 40 per cent inflation. Also, Israeli and U.S. airstrikes in June 2025 targeting Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile infrastructure and military leadership have impacted the country.
“Refrigerators are empty. Pockets are empty. Every day, people see themselves becoming poorer,” one protester told Fars.
Fars and rights group Hengaw reported deaths in Lordegan city, which is located in Iran’s Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province.
In the western city of Kuhdasht, authorities confirmed one death, and Hengaw reported another death in the central province of Isfahan.
According to state-operated news agency IRNA, a separate demonstration on New Year’s Eve resulted in the death of a 21-year-old volunteer in the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s Basij force.
Iranian news agency Student News Network blamed demonstrators for the Guard member’s death, referencing comments from Saeed Pourali, a deputy governor in Iran’s Lorestan province.
On Jan. 1, Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said that authorities would have direct dialogue with representatives of trade unions and merchants.
In recent years, often with tough security measures and widespread arrests, authorities have silenced protests that have arisen over issues including droughts, high prices, women’s rights, and political freedoms.
In December 2025, inflation reached 42.5 percent in the country as the Iranian rial lost around half its value against the dollar in 2025.
Jeff Louderback and Reuters contributed to this report.
