Tensions Rise: Iran Cracks Down on Protesters, Israel Considers Options, Trump Signals Possible Military Action.
Months after the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, tensions are rising again as Iran kills protesters, Israel weighs new military action and President Donald Trump signals the U.S. could intervene.
Trump sharpened pressure on Tehran this week, threatening U.S. action if Iranian security forces violently suppress the ongoing protests that erupted after the country’s national currency collapsed.
“If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters … the United States of America will come to their rescue,” Trump said on social media, adding that the U.S. was “locked and loaded.”
But while Trump’s language suggested a readiness to use force, analysts say Washington still has options short of direct military action.
Daniel Shapiro, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel, said Washington should move quickly to expand internet access for demonstrators and prepare for potential political change.
“Support protesters with internet access and prepare now to advise and assist in a transition,” Shapiro wrote on X.
Richard Goldberg, a senior advisor at the think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies, argued that Washington has options short of direct military action.
“The two most powerful things the U.S. and close partners can do without military involvement is facilitate secure information flow to the protesters and blind the security forces,” Goldberg wrote on X, adding that while Trump has suggested a kinetic approach, non-kinetic options remain available.
Human rights groups have reported between five and eight killings linked to the recent unrest, along with more than 30 people injured and over 100 arrested as demonstrations spread to dozens of cities across the country.
The White House did not specify what form any intervention might take. Past U.S. responses to unrest in Iran have typically been limited to sanctions and other non-kinetic measures, but Trump has recently shown a willingness to authorize direct military action, including strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, operations against ISIS in Nigeria following reports of mass killings of Christians and actions targeting alleged narco-traffickers near Venezuela.
Iranian officials responded sharply to Trump’s remarks, warning that U.S. involvement would risk wider regional conflict and place American forces in danger.
Ali Larijani, a senior Iranian national security official, said U.S. interference would destabilize the region and threaten American interests.
“Trump must realize that U.S. intervention in this internal matter will lead to destabilizing the entire region and destroying American interests,” Larijani wrote on X. “The American people must know that Trump is the one who started this adventure, and they should pay attention to the safety of their soldiers.”
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, warned that “all American bases and forces across the entire region will be legitimate targets” if the U.S. intervenes.
Iranian authorities have acknowledged legitimate economic grievances but have moved quickly to frame the unrest as foreign-instigated, a narrative hard-liners intensified after Trump’s warning.
