Iran protests prompt new Trump warning over deadly government crackdowns

President Donald Trump vowed Sunday evening that the Islamic Republic of Iran volition "get deed precise hard," if Tehran repeats the sidesplitting of protesters, arsenic it has during erstwhile citizen-led revolts against the regime.

When asked astir his archetypal comments connected protecting Iranian demonstrators during a property gaggle connected committee Air Force One, Trump said that "We're watching it precise closely. If they commencement sidesplitting radical similar they person successful the past, I deliberation they're going to get deed precise hard by the United States."

Anti-regime protests person engulfed Iran for the past 9 days amid Trump’s 2nd menace to intervene connected the broadside of the demonstrators successful Iran.

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President Donald Trump speaks with reporters portion successful formation connected Air Force One, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, arsenic returning to Joint Base Andrews, Md. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)

According to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists successful Iran (HRAI), the strength of the protests has reached astatine slightest 78 cities and 222 locations, with protesters demanding the extremity of the authorities controlled by the 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The radical said the authorities has killed astatine slightest 20 people, including 3 children, and arrested 990 people. Khamenei’s information forces person detained much than 40 children, HRAI noted.

Iran expert, Shukriya Bradost, who is CEO of Four Sides Security Solutions, told Fox News Digital that "Trump’s informing to the Iranian authorities emboldened protesters due to the fact that it came from a president who had already demonstrated a willingness to face Tehran directly, astir notably by ordering the sidesplitting of Qassem Soleimani. For Iranians who felt abandoned during the 2009 Green Movement nether the Obama administration, and aboriginal disappointed by the Biden administration’s softer attack toward the regime, Trump’s words were seen arsenic credible and empowering."

A U.S. subject drone onslaught killed the erstwhile Iranian general, Soleimani, successful Iraq connected Jan. 3, 2020. 

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Protesters march successful downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025.  (Fars News Agency via AP)

Bradost added, "Today, galore Iranians privation Trump to support that aforesaid clarity: to broadside openly with the Iranian people, not the regime, and to marque wide that repression volition not beryllium ignored oregon normalized.

The Islamic Republic is nary longer a functional system. The cardinal question present is whether U.S. argumentation reinforces the Iranian people’s request for genuine change, oregon unintentionally helps parts of a collapsing authorities survive."

Iranian protesters asked during the 2009 protests, "Obama: Are you with america oregon against us?" Obama sided with the Islamic Republic astatine the time. He said successful 2022 that helium regretted his confederation with Khamenei’s authorities during the Green Movement.

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Trump’s pro-protest connection has breathed further occurrence and beingness into demonstrations, according to adjacent followers of the upheaval blanketing Iran.

Mardo Soghom, a seasoned Iran adept who has written extensively astir the nation, told Fox News Digital that "There is small uncertainty that President Trump's informing to Iran's Islamic rulers volition embolden Iranians, but the information is that they began their caller protests earlier Trump made those comments. Most of the Iranians opposed to the regime, particularly those wrong the state protesting successful the streets, are asking for Israeli oregon U.S. assistance successful benignant of disarming the authorities and neutralizing its forces of repression."

He added, "The existent circular of protests successful Iran is antithetic from erstwhile rounds. People are not asking for reforms, but unanimously and categorically they are aiming for authorities change. The protests are besides much forceful. This clip around, the radical are little acrophobic of the notorious information forces and look much determined."

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Tehran's options person been constricted by Trump's threats and a long-running economical crisis that deepened aft Israel, joined by the U.S., launched strikes connected the Islamic Republic in June successful a 12-day warfare that pummelled respective of Iran's atomic sites.

"These duplicate pressures person narrowed Tehran's country for maneuver, leaving leaders caught betwixt nationalist choler connected the streets and hardening demands and threats from Washington, with fewer viable options and precocious risks connected each path," 1 Iranian authoritative told Reuters.

Protesters clasp signs during a objection successful Iran amid ongoing unrest, according to images released by the Iranian absorption radical National Council of Resistance of Iran. (NCRI )

The Iranian-American campaigner to topple the Islamic Republic, Masih Alinejad, told Fox News that "Trump’s "strong connection gave anticipation to the radical of Iran." She said aft Trump’s archetypal connection of extortion to the protesters, ample numbers of Iranians poured into the streets. She stressed this is the archetypal clip successful past that a U.S. President "is lasting powerfully with the radical of Iran and not sending appeasement connection to the killers."

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Alinejad urged Trump to evict Iran’s typical astatine the U.N. and wants the White House to person Elon Musk to supply Starlink work for net communications. She called connected President Trump to motorboat U.S. targeted subject actions against those who ordered massacres successful Iran and killed guiltless people.