Iran unrest escalates: Trump says US is ‘ready to help’ as protests continue

President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States is “ready to help” as Iranian authorities intensify their crackdown on nationwide protests.

“Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, without providing further details.

His remarks follow warnings earlier this week that Iran was in “big trouble” and that he could order military action if necessary.

Protests in Iran, now in their 13th day, began over rising living costs but have evolved into broader calls for an end to the clerical regime in power since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The government has maintained an internet blackout amid the unrest, which has left dozens dead.

Authorities in Iran have maintained a nationwide internet shutdown for 48 hours during ongoing protests, internet freedom monitor NetBlocks reported on Saturday.

“Iran has now been offline for 48 hours, as telemetry shows the nationwide internet blackout remains firmly in place,” NetBlocks said in a social media post.

With phone lines cut and internet access restricted, monitoring the protests from abroad has become increasingly difficult. According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, at least 65 people have been killed and more than 2,300 detained.

Meanwhile, a Norwegian-based Iran Human Rights reported at least 51 protesters, including nine children, have been killed, with hundreds more injured. Meanwhile, Iranian state TV highlighted security force casualties while portraying control over the country.

Saturday marked the start of the work week, though many schools and universities reportedly held online classes, and some government websites were still functioning.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has indicated a tightening of measures against protesters, despite warnings from US officials. “The United States supports the brave people of Iran,” Marco Rubio wrote Saturday on X.

Separately, the State Department warned: “Do not play games with President Trump. When he says he'll do something, he means it.”

In his first comments since January 3, Khamenei labelled demonstrators “vandals” and “saboteurs” in a state TV broadcast. He accused US President Donald Trump of having hands “stained with the blood of more than a thousand Iranians,” referencing Israel’s June strikes on Iran supported by Washington.

“Everyone knows the Islamic Republic came to power with the blood of hundreds of thousands of honourable people; it will not back down in the face of saboteurs,” Khamenei said.

Trump said Friday that Iranian leaders appear “in big trouble” and reiterated that military strikes could be ordered.

“It looks to me that the people are taking over certain cities that nobody thought were really possible just a few weeks ago,” he said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, visiting Lebanon, accused the U.S. and Israel of “directly intervening” to turn peaceful protests violent — a claim the State Department dismissed as “delusional.”

Reza Pahlavi, US-based son of Iran’s ousted Shah, urged Trump to intervene, saying: “The people will be on the streets again in an hour.”

Iranian authorities responded with warnings of severe punishment. Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said actions against “rioters” would be “decisive, the maximum and without any legal leniency,” while the Revolutionary Guards called protecting the revolution a “red line.”

Exiled Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi warned that security forces could be preparing a “massacre under the cover of a sweeping communications blackout.” France, the UK, and Germany issued a joint statement condemning the killing of protesters and urging authorities to “exercise restraint.”

State TV broadcast images of thousands attending pro-government rallies. In the southeast, Haalvsh rights group reported security forces fired on protesters in Zahedan, Sistan-Baluchistan province, after Friday prayers, causing an unknown number of casualties.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said that since December 28, security forces have “unlawfully used rifles, shotguns loaded with metal pellets, water cannon, tear gas, and beatings to disperse, intimidate and punish largely peaceful protesters.”

Iran cut off internet and international phone access on Thursday, allowing only limited state and semi-official media to operate.

Exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who called for protests Thursday and Friday, urged demonstrators to take to the streets again Saturday and Sunday, carrying Iran’s pre-1979 lion-and-sun flag to reclaim public spaces. Some protesters have also shouted support for the shah, though Pahlavi’s ties to Israel have drawn past criticism.

The demonstrations began on December 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial, which now trades at over 1.4 million to $1. International sanctions have further strained the economy. The protests have since intensified, evolving into direct challenges to Iran’s theocracy.