Following the successful capture of alleged narco-terrorist and Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro, the administration of President Donald Trump made it crystal clear that when he tells you something, you had better listen — or else.
If that holds true, it means that a pending confrontation between the United States and Iran may soon be inevitable.
According to Fox News, nationwide protests in Iran — something Trump has kept a close eye on — entered their 13th day on Friday.
The anti-regime protests have been sparked by societal unrest and, more importantly, extreme economic hardships tied to skyrocketing inflation and a collapsing currency.
The protests mark Iran’s most widespread outbreak of public opposition since the wave of unrest sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini while in custody in late 2022, per EuroNews.
And this ongoing issue only appears to be getting worse.
Fox News, citing Iran Human Rights, noted that hundreds have already been injured at the hands of brutal government crackdowns.
Tragically, at least 51 protesters have been killed, including nine children.
While those figures are sinister enough on their own, they could portend something far more ominous since Trump previously warned Tehran that the U.S. was “locked and loaded” and ready to come to the defense of the Iranian people should their government start killing them.
Donald J. Trump Truth Social 01.02.26 02:58 AM
If Iran shots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President…
— Commentary Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) January 2, 2026
“If Iran [shoots] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue,” Trump posted to Truth Social earlier this month.
“We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” the president warned.
Trump’s stance has not especially softened in the week or so since he originally made those comments.
“We don’t want that to happen,” Trump said on Friday, per Fox News.
He added, “There have been cases like this where President Obama totally backed down, but this is something pretty incredible that’s happening in Iran. It’s an amazing thing to watch.”
“They’ve done a bad job,” the president further said about the leadership of the Islamic Republic.
“They’ve treated the people very badly, and now they’re being paid back. So let’s see what happens,” he continued.
“We’ll watch it. We’re watching it very closely.”
The president did stress that this promise did not mean sending American troops to Iran, but that the response would be quite painful for Iranian leadership.
“We’ll be hitting them very hard where it hurts,” he said. “And that doesn’t mean boots on the ground, but it means hitting them very, very hard where it hurts.”
Protests on Friday only worsened — and are expected to get even more severe — after Tehran initiated a sweeping internet blackout in an attempt to cut Iran off from the rest of the world.
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