‘Ready to help’: Trump backs Iranian protesters as Khamenei defies US, death toll mounts

President Donald Trump on January 11 said the United States is “ready to help” as anti-government protests in Iran escalated despite a sweeping internet shutdown and an intensifying crackdown by authorities of the Islamic Republic. 

“Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, offering no details on what form such assistance could take. 

The statement came amid mounting unrest across Iran and a sharp escalation in rhetoric between Washington and Tehran, raising fears of both a violent domestic crackdown and a broader regional confrontation. 

Protests defy internet blackout  

Protests surged again on Saturday night in Tehran, with anti-government chants echoing through parts of the capital despite heavy security deployment and a communications blackout imposed by the authorities. Verified videos cited by AFP showed crowds gathering in northern Tehran hours after exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi urged Iranians to seize city centres and intensify demonstrations against the government. 

The unrest, now entering its third week, erupted on December 28, 2025, triggered by the collapse of the national currency and worsening economic hardship. Iran’s leadership signalled an imminent nationwide crackdown on January 9, as the reported death toll from the protests rose to at least 50. 

State media has increasingly portrayed demonstrators as “terrorists,” a label that rights groups say has historically preceded violent security operations during previous waves of unrest. 

Khamenei warns Trump of ‘downfall’ 

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed Trump’s warnings as hollow, accusing the US president of having hands “stained with the blood of Iranians,” even as state television aired footage of regime supporters chanting “Death to America!” 

In a sharply worded post on X (formerly Twitter), Khamenei warned that Trump would meet the same fate as historical rulers who overreached at the height of their power. “The US President who judges arrogantly about the whole world should know that tyrants & arrogant rulers of the world… saw their downfall when they were at the peak of their hubris. He too will fall,” Khamenei wrote. 

Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also issued a warning, saying the United States and Israel would become “legitimate targets” if Washington follows through on threats of military action. 

Military signals & calls for intervention 

Reports indicated that the United States was drawing up contingency plans for potential military action following Trump’s repeated warnings. A former US Army colonel and military analyst claimed there were signs of a significant American military build-up in the Middle East. 

Trump earlier warned of severe consequences if Iranian authorities respond violently to protesters. “If they start killing people… we are going to hit them very hard,” he said in an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt. 

Meanwhile, Reza Pahlavi issued an urgent appeal to Trump on January 9, warning that Iran’s leadership was using a communications blackout to conceal what he described as an impending massacre. “No Internet. No landlines,” Pahlavi wrote, urging immediate international intervention as protesters prepared to return to the streets.