Tens of thousands of people protested for the 14th straight night in more than 100 Iranian cities as authorities appeared to be intensifying their crackdown, and US President Donald Trump led an intensification of pressure on Tehran.
In a January 10 post on Truth Social,Trump saidthe United States "stands ready to help," reiterating support for the protesters after a series of warnings to Iranian authorities.
Trump's latest comments come a day after he told a meeting of oil and gas executives at the White House that "Iran is in big trouble. It looks to me that the people are taking over certain cities that nobody thought were really possible just a few weeks ago."
"We're watching the situation very carefully. I've made the statement very strongly that if they start killing people like they have in the past, we will get involved. We will be hitting them very hard where it hurts. That does not mean boots on the ground, but it does mean hitting them very, very hard where it hurts."
This was followed up by ashort post on Xby US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on January 10, stating that the United States supports the brave people of Iran.
Videos from inside Iran circulating on social media on January 10 indicated that crowds of protesters continued to gather in various parts of the capital, Tehran, and in the cities of Tabriz and Rasht.
