Iran security chief threatens regional fallout after Trump warnings
Iran’s top security official warned of regional consequences following remarks by US President Donald Trump, after Washington cautioned Tehran over the violent suppression of protests.
In a post on X, Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, accused Trump of initiating what he described as “adventurism,” telling Americans to “watch over their soldiers.”
Comments by Trump and Israeli officials, Larijani said, had exposed what he called the “behind-the-scenes” dynamics.
US involvement would lead to “chaos across the entire region” and damage American interests, , Larijani said without addressing reports of protesters killed by security forces.
The funeral of Dariush Ansari Bakhtiarvand, a protester killed during demonstrations in Isfahan's Fooladshahr, was held on Friday.
Ansari Bakhtiarvand was shot dead on Wednesday, December 31, during protests in the city. He was killed by direct gunfire from government forces during nighttime demonstrations.
Washington would step in if protesters are violently killed, Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
“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.”
Protests turn deadly
Trump’s remarks came as protests in Iran reached a fifth consecutive day on Thursday, with at least seven protesters reported killed by security forces. Demonstrations spread to new cities, including the clerical stronghold of Qom, where crowds openly called for the downfall of the theocracy.
Earlier, a US official said the protests reflect deep public anger at years of government failure. In a written statement on Thursday, a spokesperson for the United States Department of State described the unrest as an expression of the Iranian people’s “understandable anger.”
“The protests reflect the understandable anger of the Iranian people at their government's failures and excuses,” the official said, accusing Tehran of neglecting the economy, agriculture, water and electricity for decades while “squandering billions on terrorist proxies and nuclear weapons research.” The statement also cited Iran’s involvement in acts of “terrorism against the United States and its allies.”
Demonstrations were reported across dozens of locations, from Tehran and Isfahan to Lorestan, Mazandaran, Khuzestan, Hamadan and Fars. Protesters chanted slogans directly targeting the ruling system and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Pro-monarchy slogans dominated many rallies, highlighting how the unrest has moved beyond economic grievances into open political defiance. Security forces used live fire in several cities, including Nurabad in Lorestan and Hamedan in western Iran, where videos showed officers shooting at demonstrators who remained in the streets despite the crackdown.
Australia condemns violence by Iranian authorities and urges Tehran to respect the rights of peaceful protesters, a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson told Iran International.
Canberra said it continues to strongly advocate for the human rights of the Iranian people and reiterated that Iran remains a “do not travel” destination due to a volatile security situation and a high risk of detention, adding that Australia’s consular assistance capacity is extremely limited.
The government said it has taken strong action against Iran, including expanding its autonomous sanctions framework and sanctioning 200 Iran-linked individuals and entities since September 2022, nearly 100 of them linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Iran's exiled prince Reza Pahlavi praised protesters across Iran and honoured those killed in recent demonstrations, calling them “true heroes of this land” and urging Iranians to remain united until what he described as the country’s freedom.
In a message posted on X, Pahlavi saluted demonstrators “standing courageously across Iran,” listing provinces from Lorestan and Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari to Tehran, Khorasan and Hormozgan. “You are making history – history written by the courage, solidarity, and determination of a nation reclaiming its country,” he wrote.
Referring to those killed over the past two days, he said: “Their names and memories will live forever in our national conscience.” Pahlavi called on Iranians to honour them nationwide and abroad “so that we show their path and their purpose are shared by all of us.”
He ended with a call for perseverance: “Stay united. Stay focused on the goal. Victory will be ours.”
