President Donald Trump once again warned Iranian leaders not to respond violently to protesters in the country, or they will face the consequences.
"You better not start shooting," Trump said at a meeting of cabinet officials and oil executives Friday. "Because we’ll start shooting, too."
Trump said the protesters in Iran who are rallying against the regime have named a street after him.
"God bless them," Trump said. "I just hope the protesters in Iran are going to be safe, because that's a very dangerous place right now."
On Sunday, Trump warned Iran would get "hit very hard" by the United States if protesters are killed by Iran during demonstrations that have entered a second week.
"We're watching it very closely. If they start killing people like they have in the past, I think they're going to get hit very hard by the United States," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on his return from Mar-a-Lago.
Previously, the president wrote on his Truth Social platform that if Iran "violently kills peaceful protesters," the U.S. "will come to their rescue," adding that "we are locked and loaded and ready to go."
Trump said he was not inclined now to meet Reza Pahlavi, the exiled crown prince and son of the late Shah of Iran, a sign that he was waiting to see how the crisis plays out before backing an opposition leader.
"I think that we should let everybody go out there and see who emerges," Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Thursday. "I'm not sure necessarily that it would be an appropriate thing to do."
Pahlavi, who lives near Washington, has called on social media for continued mass demonstrations.
In a post Friday, he called on Trump to get more involved in the crisis with his "attention, support and action."
Earlier this week, a U.S. intelligence community assessment said that the protests were not big enough to challenge the leadership of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, according to a source familiar with U.S. intelligence reports. But U.S. analysts were watching the situation carefully.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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