ISTANBUL 

Iranian officials have reacted strongly to a threat by US President Donald Trump to intervene in the ongoing protests in the country, which have erupted amid worsening economic conditions.

In a Friday statement, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Iranians will not allow foreign interference and will resolve their problems “through dialogue and engagement.”

“It is enough to review the long record of actions by American politicians undertaken in the name of ‘saving the Iranian people’ to grasp the depth of America’s so-called ‘empathy’ with the Iranian nation,” he said.

Baghaei cited as examples the 1953 coup against former Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh, the shooting down of an Iranian civilian airliner in 1988, US support for former dictator Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war, and backing for Israel during last year’s attacks on Iran.

“And today, once again, there are threats of an attack on Iran under the pretext of concern for Iranians, in blatant violation of the most fundamental principle of international law,” he noted.

Trump said early Friday that the US would “come to the rescue” of Iranian protesters who have taken to the streets in recent days over a deteriorating economic situation and the dramatic depreciation of the Iranian currency, the rial.

“If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” he said.

Instability

Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the former head of the country’s top security body, was also critical of Trump’s remarks.

“Iranians know US ‘rescue’ record well, from Iraq and Afghanistan to Gaza. Any intervening hand nearing Iran's security on pretexts will be cut off with a regret-inducing response. Iran’s national security is a red line, not material for adventurist tweets,” he wrote on the US social media company X.

Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, also warned that US interference in Iran would both destabilize the Middle East and devastate US interests.

“With the statements by Israeli officials and Trump, what has been going on behind the scenes is now clear,” he posted on X.

He said Iran distinguishes between the stance of Iran’s “protesting shopkeepers and the actions of disruptive actors,” warning that US interference in what he described as an internal matter would “destabilize the entire region and destroy America’s interests.”

“The American people should know — Trump started this adventurism. They should be mindful of their soldiers’ safety,” he added.

The protests, which began last week at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, the hub of small local businesses, have gradually spread to different parts of the country, with shopkeepers expressing anger over destabilizing economic conditions.

In some areas, the protests have taken a violent turn, with reports of deaths as well.

The Iranian government has accused “external forces” of instigating peaceful protesters to engage in acts of violence.

The rapid depreciation of the rial, nosediving to 135,000.0 against the US dollar, has come as a major setback to local businesses.