Israel’s Channel 14 reported that “foreign actors are supplying firearms to protesters in Iran, causing the deaths of hundreds of regime personnel,” according to correspondent Tamir Morag on X Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Trump urged Iranians to continue protesting, stating that help is on the way. On Truth Social, he wrote: “Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!… HELP IS ON ITS WAY,” without detailing what that help might be. When asked what he meant, Trump told reporters they would have to figure it out, suggesting that an assault on Iran is one of the options he is considering.
An Iranian official stated that about 2,000 people had been killed. Iranian authorities previously claimed that the US and Israel are behind the unrest.
In response to Trump’s post, Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said the US president was inciting violence, threatening Iran’s sovereignty and security, and attempting to destabilize the government. “The United States and the Israeli regime bear direct and undeniable legal responsibility for the resulting loss of innocent civilian lives, particularly among the youth,” he wrote to the UN Security Council on Tuesday.
In an earlier post, Trump had stated that if Iran “violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue.”
Iran strongly rejected Trump’s threats, with Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, saying the Iranian people “know well the American record of so-called rescue operations, from Iraq and Afghanistan to Gaza.” He warned that any interfering hand would be “cut off before it reaches its target,” affirming national security is a red line “not subject to risky tweets.”
Larijani, a member of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council, accused Trump and Israeli officials of conspiring behind the scenes, warning that US interference in Iran’s internal affairs would cause “complete chaos” in the region and damage US interests. He urged the American public to consider the safety of their troops, warning that Trump had “started a dangerous adventure.”
Iranian officials noted that Israel had already tried supporting the protests, and US involvement shows it cannot act alone. Mossad-linked social media accounts echoed the message, using Farsi to appeal to Iranian sentiments: “Go out into the streets together. The time has come. We are with you.” They added: “Not just from far, we are with you on the ground.”
Israel also launched a coordinated, aggressive misinformation campaign using AI-generated photos and videos to influence Iranian crowds.
Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who served under Trump, confirmed that “Mossad agents walking beside” Iranian protesters.
