US President Donald Trump and a top Iranian security official exchanged threats today amid widespread economic protests in Iran.
This rhetoric further exacerbates tensions between the United States (US) and Iran following the US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites in June last year.
According to the Associated Press (AP), at least seven people have died during demonstrations in Iran over the poor state of the Iranian economy, which spread to rural parts of the country yesterday.
Trump first warned Iran on his social media platform Truth Social that if it "violently kills peaceful protesters," the US would "come to their aid."
Trump wrote that the US was ready to take action, without further details.
Shortly after his announcement, Ali Larijani, a former speaker of the Iranian parliament who serves as secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, wrote on the X network that Israel and the US were inciting the demonstrations.
He provided no evidence to support those claims, which Iranian officials have repeatedly repeated during the protests that have gripped the country.
"Trump should know that American intervention in an internal problem brings chaos to the entire region and the destruction of American interests," Larijani wrote on the X network, which is otherwise blocked by the Iranian government.
"The people of the US should know that Trump started this adventure. They should take care of their own soldiers," Larijani wrote.
Larijani's warning probably refers to the extensive American military presence in the region, writes the AP agency.
In June, Iran targeted the Al Udeid air base in Qatar after US attacks on three Iranian nuclear facilities.
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