Donald Trump's warning that the US would intervene if peaceful protesters were killed was “reckless and dangerous”, Iran's foreign minister has said.
Abbas Araghchi's comments came after The US President said Washington will “come to the aid” of demonstrators taking part in protests against Iran's economy, writing in a brief social media post: “We are locked, loaded and ready to go.”
Araghchi noted that Iran's armed forces are on alert and “know exactly where to aim” in the event of an attack.
IN minimum eight people As of Saturday morning, they were reported to have died during the week-long protests.
Trump tweeted on Friday: “If Iran shoots [sic] and brutally kill peaceful protesters, as is their custom, the United States of America will come to their aid.”
The US President did not specify what actions Washington might take. This used to be attacked Iran's nuclear facilitieswhich provoked a retaliatory attack on the US base in Qatar.
“Given President Trump's deployment of the National Guard within US borders, he of all people should know that criminal attacks on government property will not be tolerated,” Araghchi wrote on X.
Iran “strongly rejects any interference in their internal affairs,” he added.
Meanwhile, an Iranian police spokesman said officers would not allow what he called “enemies” to turn “unrest into chaos.”
Protests spread to a number of cities and towns, with ongoing fighting reported between security forces and demonstrators.
The protests began in Tehran, where shopkeepers were outraged by another sharp drop in the value of Iran's currency, the rial, against the US dollar on the open market.
By Tuesday, university students had taken part and protests had spread to several cities, with people chanting against the country's clerical rulers.
Two people were killed in clashes between protesters and security forces in the southwestern city of Lordegan, according to the semi-official Fars news agency and rights group Hengaw, which said the protesters were Ahmad Jalil and Sajjad Walamanesh.
Three people were killed in Aznea and another died in Kuhdasht, all in the west of the country, Fars reported. It was not specified whether they were demonstrators or members of the security forces.
One death was reported in Fuladshahr, central Iran, and another casualty was reported in Marvdasht, southern Iran.
The BBC was unable to independently confirm the death.
The demonstrations were the largest since the 2022 uprising sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young woman accused by morality police of not wearing the veil properly, but they were not of the same scale.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said he would listen to the “legitimate demands” of protesters.
However, the country's attorney general, Mohammad Movahedi-Azad, warned that any attempt to create instability would be met with a “strong response.”
That position was echoed by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said it was “absolutely fair” for shopkeepers to protest the economic situation, but that any “rioters must be put in their place.”
Iran's UN Ambassador Amir-Saeed Iravani called on the UN Security Council to condemn Trump's statement in a letter to the Secretary-General and the Security Council President on Friday, Reuters news agency reported.
“Iran will exercise its rights decisively and proportionately. The United States of America bears full responsibility for any consequences resulting from these unlawful threats and any subsequent escalation,” he wrote in the letter.
