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The US is ready to help Iranian protesters achieve freedom from the ruling Islamic regime, President Trump has said.
As massive protests in the Middle Eastern nation entered their 14th day, the President offered a message of support, and a promise of assistance, on Truth Social.
“Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before,” Trump wrote.
“The USA stands ready to help!!!”
In response to the protests, which have engulfed Iran and seen protesters involved in running battles with security forces in the streets of all the nation’s cities, the Iranian regime has attempted to restrict access to the internet and expanded troop and police deployments.
At present it’s unclear how many people have been killed or injured in the protests.
Estimates suggest hundreds have been killed and nearly 3,000 detained.
Protests have been documented at 574 locations across 185 cities in all 31 provinces of Iran.
Images from the protests have shown government buildings and mosques on fire, with protesters chanting “death to the dictator” and “death to Khamenei,” a reference to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
President Trump has repeatedly warned that the US would intervene if the Iranian regime used lethal force against protesters.
On Friday, during a meeting with oil executives at the White House, Trump said Washington is monitoring the situation very closely. He made clear that, although US troops would not be used, he had other ways of punishing the Iranian regime.
“I’ve made this statement very strongly that if they start killing people like they have in the past, we will get involved,” Trump said.
“We’ll be hitting them very hard where it hurts.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also reiterated US support for the protesters, posting on X that Washington stands with “the brave people of Iran.” The State Department warned Tehran not to test Trump’s resolve.
Recent reports suggests Ayatollah Khamenei is preparing to flee to Moscow if the unrest is not brought under control.
According to London’s Times newspaper, an intelligence report reveals Khamenei’s back-up plan if the regime is unable to regain control of the streets.
The Times reports, “Khamenei, 86, plans to escape Tehran with a close circle of up to 20 aides and family, should he see that the army and security called on to quell the unrest are deserting, defecting or failing to follow orders.”
“The ‘plan B’ is for Khamenei and his very close circle of associates and family, including his son and nominated heir apparent, Mojtaba,” an intelligence source told The Times.
Khamenei’s “getaway plan” is based on the flight of Syria’s Bashar-al-Assad, who fled Damascus to join his family in Moscow before opposition forces took the capital in December 2024.
“They have plotted an exit route out of Tehran should they feel the need to escape,” which includes “gathering assets, properties abroad and cash to facilitate their safe passage”, the intelligence source said.
The Times continues, “Khamenei is known to hold a major network of assets, some under one of the most powerful organisations in Iran, Setad—part of a system of semi-state charitable foundations known for their financial obfuscation. Estimates put the total holdings at $95 billion, according to a Reuters investigation in 2013, including properties and companies, all held and controlled by Khamenei.
“Many of his closest aides, including the secretary of Iran’s supreme national security council, Ali Larijani—who warned President Trump to stay out of Tehran’s affairs—have family members already living abroad, including in the US, Canada and Dubai.”
