"We are locked and loaded and ready to go," the president said in a post on Truth Social early Friday, after economic protests in the Islamic Republic took a sharply violent turn.

Iran's parliament speaker threatens U.S. military bases as 'legitimate targets' after Trump vows action over protest crackdowns. Tensions escalate.

President Donald Trump said overnight the United States is "locked and loaded" as he warned Iran not to kill peaceful protesters as nationwide unrest unfolds in Tehran.

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Friday to come to the aid of protesters in Iran if security forces fired on them, days into unrest that has left several dead and posed the biggest internal threat to Iranian authorities in years.

Iran tension soars, Trump warns violence against protesters could bring an American intervention: "We are locked and loaded and ready to go."

Both the semi-official Fars news agency and human rights group, Hengaw, said two people had died during clashes between protesters and security forces in the city of Lordegan, in south-western Iran. Three more people were killed in Azna and another in Kouhdasht, Fars reported, all in the west of the country.

U.S. sanctions on Iran have taken a heavy toll on the country’s economy, contributing to the current protest movement.

It was only a matter of time until such gloom gave rise to another round of mass protest. The only question was what would trigger it. It came from an unlikely corner on December 28th, when electronics vendors in Tehran went on strike.

Trump threatens U.S. intervention if Iran violently suppresses ongoing protests, escalating tensions after last year's 12-day war between Israel and Iran.