Iran Protests 2026 Live Updates: Iran is looking at freedom, US stands ready to help, says Donald Trump
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blasted protesters in a speech aired Friday. (Source: Express Archives)
Iran Protests 2026 Live Updates: US President Donald Trump has warned Iran’s leaders that the US will respond severely if they crack down on protesters, saying “If they start killing people like they have in the past, we will get involved. We’ll be hitting them very hard where it hurts.” He clarified that he didn’t mean sending troops, but rather taking strong economic or military action. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticised protesters in a televised speech, accusing them of “ruining their own streets to make the president of another country happy”. The speech, aired on state television, was met with chants of “Death to America” from the crowd.
Large protests target Iran’s leadership: Huge crowds have taken to the streets of Iran’s capital Tehran and other major cities in what appears to be the most significant public challenge to the country’s clerical establishment in years. Videos verified by the BBC show thousands marching peacefully through Tehran and Mashhad, chanting slogans that directly target the foundations of the Islamic Republic, including calls for the overthrow of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the return of monarchy under Reza Pahlavi.
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Protests enter twelfth day: The demonstrations mark the twelfth consecutive day of unrest triggered by economic anger, particularly the collapse of Iran’s currency, and have spread to more than 100 cities and towns across all 31 provinces, according to rights groups. Protesters have been heard chanting “Death to the dictator” and “Don’t be afraid, we are all together,” while some footage shows crowds dismantling surveillance cameras—an unmistakable sign of defiance against state control. Although many protests remained peaceful, videos from western Iran suggest live fire in at least one city.
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