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The former president has threatened to intervene in Iran if its regime use lethal force against protesters, prompting admonishments from Iran's leadership that any American interference would cross a “red line”.

An Online Declaration Ignites Diplomatic Strain

Via a online statement on recently, Trump said that if the country were to fire upon protesters, the US would “come to their rescue”. He added, “we are locked and loaded, and ready to go,” without clarifying what that would involve in actual terms.

Demonstrations Enter the Next Phase Amid Economic Crisis

Public unrest are now in their sixth day, representing the biggest in several years. The ongoing protests were triggered by an steep fall in the national currency on Sunday, with its value falling to about 1.4m to the US dollar, worsening an precarious economic situation.

Several citizens have been lost their lives, among them a member of the paramilitary organization. Videos have shown law enforcement armed with shotguns, with the audio of gunfire audible in the recordings.

Iranian Authorities Deliver Strong Rebukes

Reacting to Trump’s threat, Ali Shamkhani, adviser to the supreme leader, stated that the nation's sovereignty were a “definitive boundary, not material for reckless social media posts”.

“Any external involvement nearing the country's stability on any excuse will be cut off with a regret-inducing response,” Shamkhani said.

A separate high-ranking figure, the secretary of Iran’s supreme national security council, accused the outside actors of orchestrating the demonstrations, a typical response by the government in response to protests.

“Trump must realize that foreign interference in this national affair will lead to destabilisation of the Middle East and the destruction of Washington's stakes,” Larijani declared. “US citizens must know that Trump is the one that began this escalation, and they should consider the safety of their troops.”

Background of Tensions and Demonstration Scale

Iran has vowed to strike American soldiers deployed in the Middle East in the before, and in recent months it launched strikes on Al-Udeid airbase in the Gulf after the US struck related infrastructure.

The current protests have occurred in the capital but have also reached other cities, such as Isfahan. Merchants have gone on strike in solidarity, and activists have taken over university grounds. While economic conditions are the main issue, demonstrators have also voiced political demands and criticized what they said was graft and poor governance.

Government Stance Changes

The head of state, the president, offered talks with demonstration organizers, adopting a softer stance than the government did during the previous unrest, which were violently suppressed. He said that he had instructed the administration to listen to the demonstrators' core grievances.

The fatalities of protesters, could, suggest that the state are taking a harder line against the protests as they continue. A announcement from the state security apparatus on recently warned that it would respond forcefully against any external involvement or “sedition” in the country.

While Tehran face domestic dissent, it has sought to counter accusations from the US that it is reviving its atomic ambitions. Iran has said that it is ceased such work domestically and has expressed it is ready for negotiations with the west.