DONALD Trump has declared the US will “start shooting” if Iran’s tyrannical regime continues to murder protesters.
The president told reporters that the rogue nation was in “big trouble” as nationwide demonstrations grip the country, with authorities blacking out the internet to curb growing unrest.
He added: “If they start killing people like they have in the past, we will be hitting them very hard where it hurts.
“That doesn’t mean boots on the ground but it means hitting them very, very hard where it hurts.”
Trump, who bombed Iran last summer and warned Tehran last week the U.S. could come to the protesters’ aid issued another warning on Friday, saying: “You better not start shooting because we’ll start shooting too.”
He added: “I just hope the protesters in Iran are going to be safe, because that’s a very dangerous place right now.”
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The Don has already issued several threats to the despotic republic, claiming US forces were “locked and loaded” to assist protesters and prepared to hit its morality police “very hard“.
More striking footage showing government buildings up in flames has emerged tonight.
Citizens have reported receiving threatening texts from totalitarian regime cops warning them against demonstrating.
Some protesters have been shot in the head with many injured also admitted for treatment, according to an eyewitness at an Iranian hospital.
The UK, France and Germany released a joint statement on Friday saying they “strongly condemn” the killing of protesters and that they are “deeply concerned” by reports of authoritarian violence.
Iran’s Supreme Leader has blasted protesters for “ruining the streets” and sucking up to Donald Trump – as he faces a spiraling uprising against the mullah regime.
US intelligence initially believed the street protests would lack the necessary firepower to rock the regime, officials told Axios.
But after the latest dramatic scenes, that assessment is being torn up.
The protests pose the biggest internal challenge in at least three years to Iran’s clerical rulers, who look more vulnerable than during past bouts of unrest amid a dire economic situation and after last year’s war with Israel and the US
Millions of outraged protesters have marched through the streets of Tehran on Thursday night as Khamenei’s theocracy hangs in the balance.
Riots have spilled into over 100 towns and cities as the demonstrations enter their 13th consecutive day.
Quaking in his bootsthe Iranian leader said: “Protesters are ruining their own streets to make the president of another country happy.”
The full extent of the damage is currently unclear due to Tehran cutting off the whole country from the internet and international phone calls.
But despite the blackout, dramatic footage showed cars up in flames as the widespread clashes left at least 45 people dead.
Bonfires and debris littered the streets as swarms of locals chanted slogans criticising the regime.
Furious civilians attacked government buildings and statues, including figures of once-revered military chief Qasem Soleimani.
Mosques in the Gholhak and Sa’adat Abad neighbourhoods of capital Tehran were reported to have been set on fire.
On Friday, Iranian state media broke its silence over the demonstrations.
Staring down the barrel of mob rule, they blamed “terrorist agents” from the US and Israel for lighting fires and sparking violence.
In a seething televised address, the Supreme Leader fumed that authorities would crack down on demonstrators as an audience shouted behind him: “Death to America!”
The US president on Thursday promised to “come to the rescue” if Tehran “violently kills peaceful protesters”.
Trump said: “If they do that, they’re going to have to pay hell.”
Protests over Iran’s flailing economy and its government have intensified steadily since December 28.
There is mounting speculation that the Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, whose father fled just before country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, could be part of a regime change.
Demonstrations have shouted slogans in support of the shah – an act punishable by death.
Pahlavi told Iranians on social media: “The eyes of the world are upon you. Take to the streets.”
Cries of “Death to the Dictator” filled the air as Khameinei’s rule came under the most serious threat since an eruption of violence was crushed in 2009.
Iranian rights group HRANA said on Friday it had documented at least 62 deaths, including 14 security personnel and 48 protesters, since demonstrations began.
At least 2,270 have been arrested in the demonstrations, according the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.