Iran's speaker threatens US forces after Trump's protest crackdown comments

Any action or interference against Iran would draw a harsh response, Alireza Salimi, a member of Iran’s parliamentary presidium said on Friday, reacting to comments by US President Donald Trump over the crackdown on protests.

“Trump the gambler should know that our response to any action or interference will be regret-inducing,” Salimi said, according to Iranian media.

Iranian activist and journalist Masih Alinejad called on US President Donald Trump to take concrete steps in support of protesters in Iran, thanking him for what she described as strong backing.

Trump’s words mattered, Alinejad said in a post on X, but urged immediate action. She called for expanded access to free internet by asking Elon Musk to increase Starlink coverage so authorities cannot silence protests by cutting connectivity.

Alinejad also urged Washington to expel Iranian diplomats from the United States, arguing that representatives of a government that shoots protesters should not enjoy diplomatic privileges. Alinejad further called for “maximum consequences” against Iranian officials who ordered live fire, saying those responsible must face “real, personal, and irreversible consequences.”

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Iran International said it could verify the death of another protester in the town of Lordegan, identifying the victim as 22-year-old Ahmad Jalil, who was killed by direct gunfire from Iranian security forces during demonstrations on Thursday.

Jalil had previously taken part in protests during the 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement and was working as a ride-hailing driver, struggling financially, a relative told Iran International.

Sources close to the family said agents from the intelligence arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps later summoned Jalil’s relatives to the governor’s office, threatening not to release his body unless they gave a coerced interview blaming protesters for his death.

Sources also said authorities have attempted to pressure and financially coerce families of those killed in recent protests, in an effort to suppress accountability and control public narratives around the deaths.

Iranians would not allow foreign intervention in addressing the country’s problems, Esmaeil Baghaei, the Islamic Republic’s foreign ministry spokesperson, said responding to a warning by US President Donald Trump over the protests.

“Iranians, through dialogue and interaction with one another to resolve their problems, will not permit any form of foreign interference,” Baghaei wrote in a post on X as demonstrations entered its sixth consecutive day.

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Footage shared with Iran International shows mourners at the funeral of Amirhessam Khodayarifard, a protester killed in Kuhdasht, forcing government forces to flee the ceremony.

Basij and other security personnel were initially deployed around the site, according to a witness who described the video. After the body was handed over to the family, mourners chased them away with stones and chants, forcing members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and Basij to retreat from the area.