Tipsheet

'Locked and Loaded:' President Trump Issues Warning to Iran As Anti-Regime Protests Enter Sixth Day

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  January 02, 2026 9:50 AM

Things are getting tense in Iran. Earlier this morning, our Matt Vespa broke down exactly what's going on in the Islamic nation as posts on social media show citizens rising up in several cities around the country including Tehran, Karaj, Malard, Isfahan, Najafabad, Fooladshahr, and Shiraz.

In Isfahan, protesters were seen marching towards the city's central square, chanting, "This year is the year of blood, and the regime of Ali Khamenei the butcher will fall."

In Farsan, anti-regime protesters set a clerical seminary on fire, and the protests — which have been going on for days — don't seem to be slowing down soon.

According to Reuters, Iranian media and human rights groups reported that several protesters have been killed, although Iranian officials only confirmed one death. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) also told Fox News that clashes Thursday included Tehran, Marvdasht, Kermanshah, Delfan, and Arak. NCRI says two protesters were killed in Lordegan, but Fox News could not confirm those deaths.

Now, President Trump is warning the Iranian regime that if they kill protesters, the United States of America will step up.

"If Iran shoots 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 Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Iran was quick to respond to the President's promise. According to The Guardian, Ali Shamkhani, an advisor to Ayatollah Ali Khameini, said such a threat was a "red line, not material for adventurous tweets."

"The people of Iran are well familiar with the experience of 'rescuing' Ameiricans; from Iraq and Afghanistan to Gaza. Every hand of intervention that approaches #IranianSecurity with excuses will be cut off with a #regrettableResponse before it arrives. Iran's national security is a #redline, not the subject of adventurous tweets."

In a separate post, Shamkhan wrote, "The Iranian people are no strangers to America's 'rescue' encounters, from Iraq and Afghanistan to Gaza, where past experiences remain vividly etched in memory. Any attempt to interfere with Iran's security under any pretext will inevitably face Iran's resolute rejection and provoke regrettable consequences. National security is Iran's bottom line, never mere fodder for reckless tweets."

Back in June, President Trump authorized successful airstrikes on Iran's nuclear program, obliterating the nation's nuclear capabilities. 

Days earlier, President Trump voiced support for Israeli strikes on Iran's missile program during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to The Guardian, Trump said, "If they will continue with the missiles, yes," and added that if Iran resumed work on nuclear weapons, the U.S. was prepared to strike "immediately."

Iranian journalist Karmel Melamed said President Trump's predecessors "said nothing" while the Ayatollahs crushed protests in the nation in 2009 and 2022, and implored President Trump to speak up in a New Year's Eve post on X.

"If @POTUS doesn't want to be compared to these weak clowns, speak up now for people in Iran protesting," Melamed wrote.

President Trump heard him, and now America is "locked and loaded" to help the protesters in Iran.