Donald Trump appeared to threaten military action against Iran, warning that the US Army was “loaded and ready to go”.
The president stepped up his rhetoric against the Iranian regime in an angry statement posted to the Truth Society website.
His threat comes as protests erupt across Iran calling for the overthrow of Ayatollah Khamenei.
“If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, as is their wont, the United States of America will come to the rescue,” Trump warned. “We are locked, loaded and ready to go.
“Thank you for your attention! President Donald J. Trump,” he added.
Donald Trump threatens war with Iran over new protests in Middle Eastern country (AP)
Protests in Iran have focused on the country’s economic difficulties, many of which have persisted since the United States first imposed tariffs on the government in 2018.
one protester told The Guardian Iran’s currency plunged to new lows on Sunday, sparking a new wave of protests.
“What do my children eat? Do we have to bring a suitcase of cash to buy bread? Do you think that’s normal?” he told the newspaper.
Clashes between security forces and protesters have left seven people dead. Social media videos obtained by the BBC showed cars being set on fire and roads blocked in the capital Tehran, as well as in Azna and Kudasht.
However, one of Trump’s former loyalists blasted the president for wanting to get involved in unrest overseas.
Protesters block roads in major Iranian cities as tensions continue to rise (Fars News Agency)
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene ended 2025 with an angry post on X in which she claimed Americans were planning a “tax revolt” over Trump’s involvement in “foreign wars.”
“Trump spent the weekend with Zelensky and Netanyahu, the Pentagon failed an audit again, and at the same time Americans are planning a tax revolt because they don’t know what else to do to get their elected officials to stop their money from being given to thieves, foreigners, and foreign wars,” she wrote.
Greene previously criticized Trump for authorizing strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025.
The attack, known as Operation Midnight Hammer, saw a total of fourteen “bunker buster” bombs unloaded on the facilities in an effort to stop Iran’s alleged development of nuclear weapons.
According to the BBC, Trump claimed that Operation Midnight Hammer had “totally destroyed” Iran’s nuclear enrichment plant, despite Pentagon assessments that the attack only delayed Iran’s nuclear program by a few months.
The bombing was the only time the United States was directly involved in Israel’s war with Iran, which also ended in June.
Some protesters call for the overthrow of Ayatollah Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran
Greene publicly defended former Fox News host and isolationist Tucker Carlson at the time after the president called him “weird” for his criticism of the attack.
“Foreign war/intervention/regime change puts America last, kills innocent people, bankrupts us, and ultimately leads to our destruction,” Greene blasted. “That’s not surprising.
“This is what millions of Americans voted for,” she added. “That’s what we believe in America First.”
With 2026 just days away, tensions between the United States and Iran are rising, with retired Lieutenant Colonel Tony Schafer warning that the United States needs to be extremely cautious if further attacks proceed.
“Well, it depends on what the goal is,” he told chris salcedo show Thursday. “There’s a lot going on right now and we can help.
“Obviously one of them is rioting in the streets,” he added. “We want to make it clear that we are against the mullahs and theocracy, not the Iranian people.”
Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned on X that Iran would respond to any US aggression
“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s response to any brutal aggression would be harsh and disheartening,” he wrote in an article on CBS Translations
