Trump says US 'stands ready to help' Iranian protesters as crackdown tightens

Independent.co reports that Donald Trump said on Saturday night the US "stands ready to help" protesters in Iran as the clerical regime tightened its crackdown on demonstrations. More than 100 people are feared to have been killed, and the US‑based Human Rights Activists News Agency said it had confirmed 116 deaths, including seven aged under 18; it also said more than 2,638 people had been arrested, 327 on Saturday.

The Iranian attorney general warned that anyone taking part would be considered an "enemy of God", a sentence that carries the death penalty. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps accused "terrorists" of targeting military and law enforcement bases, the army said it would join the crackdown, and Iranian media reported 100 "armed rioters" had been arrested; internet access and phone lines were also reported cut.

Despite the threat from security forces, the rights agency said protesters returned to the streets in gatherings it described as "scattered, short‑lived and fluid". It was Mr Trump’s second such warning after he said on Friday the US "will come to their rescue" if the regime "violently kills peaceful protesters", and the Wall Street Journal reported officials had held preliminary discussions about how to carry out an attack on Iran.

Key Topics

World, Donald Trump, Iran, Tehran, Reza Pahlavi, Islamic Revolutionary Guards