• US president says ready to intervene if Iran kills protesters; Tehran warns intervention will put US troops, regional stability at risk • Israel mounts online campaign urging Iranians to revolt; shares fake AI-generated videos, images DUBAI: Donald Trump warned on Friday that the US was “locked and loaded” to respond if Iran’s security forces killed protesters, prompting Tehran to caution that any intervention would destabilise the region already on edge as unrest spread across the country amid a spiralling economic crisis. Clashes between demonstrators and security forces were reported in Iran’s several cities on Thursday, with at least six people said to have been killed in the first fatalities since protests over prices and the plunging rial escalated this week. What began with shopkeepers striking in Tehran on Sunday has since rippled to at least 15 cities, largely in the west, in the most serious challenge to Iran’s clerical establishment since the nationwide protests of 2022. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump issued a blunt ultimatum. “If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue,” he wrote. “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.” The comments drew an immediate rebuke from Iran’s leadership. Supreme National Security Council head Ali Larijani warned that American involvement would threaten US forces in the Middle East. “US interference in this internal matter would mean destabilising the entire region and destroying America’s interest,” Mr Larijani said in a post on the social platform X. ‘‘The US president “should be mindful of their soldiers’ safety”. Other officials echoed the warning. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei scoffed at Trump’s offer to “rescue” protesters. “Iranians will resolve their challenges through dialogue and mutual engagement, and will not permit any form of foreign interference,” Mr Baghaei said, citing the 1988 US downing of an Iranian passenger plane as evidence of American hostility. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s adviser Ali Shamkhani said Iranian security is a “red line” and any interventionist hand would be “cut”. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Iranian parliament speaker, wrote on X that if the US interferes, “all American bases and forces across the entire region will be legitimate targets”. Israel backs protesters While Tehran lashed out at Washington, it also faced an aggressive social media campaign from Israel. Israeli government accounts and officials publicly encouraged the demonstrators, framing the unrest as the beginning of the end for the Islamic Republic. The Mossad’s official Farsi-language account posted on Monday: “Come together to the streets. It’s time. We are with you — not just from afar and in words. We are with you on the ground as well.” Israel’s foreign ministry posted a cartoon on X depicting a lion and sun — symbols of pre-revolutionary Iran — crushing the current regime’s emblem. “The rise of Iranian lions and lionesses to fight against darkness,” the post read. “Light triumphs over darkness.” Gila Gamliel, Israel’s minister of innovation, shared a video declaring that the protests by “mothers and fathers are justified”. Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli posted an image of a demonstrator waving the lion and sun flag, though some content shared by Israeli officials has faced scrutiny. Several images and videos posted by Israeli accounts on social media platforms have been modified with the help of artificial intelligence tools. One image posted by the Israel’s foreign ministry on X confirmed to have been manipulated using AI, according to detection tools. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not publicly commented, reportedly to avoid giving Tehran an excuse to blame the unrest on “Zionist” meddling. Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2026