Trump threatens U.S. intervention if Iran violently suppresses ongoing protests, escalating tensions after last year's 12-day war between Israel and Iran.

"We are locked and loaded and ready to go," the president said in a post on Truth Social early Friday, after economic protests in the Islamic Republic took a sharply violent turn.

President Donald Trump said overnight the United States is "locked and loaded" as he warned Iran not to kill peaceful protesters as nationwide unrest unfolds in Tehran.

U.S. sanctions on Iran have taken a heavy toll on the country’s economy, contributing to the current protest movement.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday that grievances behind nationwide protests were justified, but accused external forces of inciting the unrest and vowed to crack down on rioters.

Iran tension soars, Trump warns violence against protesters could bring an American intervention: "We are locked and loaded and ready to go."

Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the last shah of Iran, thanked President Donald Trump for his "support" of Iranian protesters.