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Iranian police said Friday they recognize protesters’ economic grievances but warned that security forces would not tolerate unrest or what they described as attempts to turn demonstrations into chaos.
“These protests of a purely economic and civic nature express the will of the people to improve their living conditions,” police spokesman Said Montazeralmahdi said in a statement carried by the ISNA news agency.
“The police clearly distinguish between the legitimate demands of the people and destructive actions, and will not permit any enemies to transform the unrest into chaos," the statement added.
The remarks came as Iranian officials sharply criticized comments by U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened intervention amid protests fueled by worsening economic conditions and the sharp depreciation of Iran’s rial.
In a statement Friday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Iranians would not accept foreign interference and would 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,” Baghaei said.
He cited the 1953 coup against former Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh, the downing of an Iranian civilian airliner by the U.S. Navy in 1988, U.S. support for former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war, and backing for Israel during attacks on Iran last year.
“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,” Baghaei added.
Trump said earlier Friday that the United States would “come to the rescue” of Iranian protesters who have taken to the streets in recent days.
“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.
Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and former head of Iran’s top security body, also criticized Trump’s remarks.
“Iranians know U.S. ‘rescue’ record well, from Iraq and Afghanistan to Gaza,” Shamkhani wrote on X. “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.”
Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, warned that U.S. interference would destabilize the Middle East and harm American interests.
“With the statements by Israeli officials and Trump, what has been going on behind the scenes is now clear,” Larijani wrote on X. He said Iran differentiates between “protesting shopkeepers and the actions of disruptive actors,” adding that U.S. involvement 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 said.
The protests began last week at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, a hub for small businesses, and have since spread to other parts of the country. Shopkeepers have voiced anger over economic instability and the rapid depreciation of the rial, which has fallen to about 135,000 against the U.S. dollar.
In some areas, demonstrations have turned violent, with reports of deaths. Iranian authorities have accused “external forces” of inciting violence among otherwise peaceful protesters.
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