(NewsNation) — U.S forces are on high alert as protests erupt in Iran, as Tehran continues its crackdown on protesters.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reports at least 538 people have been killed and more than 10,000 detained in the violent demonstrations spreading from the capital city of Tehran across the Islamic Republic. Iranians are now on day three of an internet blackout, as leaders put the U.S. on notice, vowing to strike back against any American military action in defense of anti-government protesters. Iranian leadership now calling U.S. bases and Israel-held territory in the region “legitimate targets.”
President Donald Trump has been watching the situation in Iran closely and is weighing U.S. involvement. The New York Times reports that Trump has been briefed in recent days on a range of options for military strikes in Iran. While he has not made a decision, outlet reports that Trump “was seriously considering authorizing a strike.”
Iran’s parliament speaker on Sunday said if the U.S. does intervene, Tehran is poised to retaliate by targeting U.S. military bases and Israel. In a post on social media Saturday, Trump wrote, “Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help.”
The president didn’t detail what he means by that, though on Friday, he seemed to be warning that the U.S. may take military action to protect Iranian protestors.
“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,” Trump said. “And that doesn’t mean boots on the ground, but it means hitting them very, very hard where it hurts.”
“I just hope the protesters in Iran are going to be safe because that’s a very dangerous place right now,” Trump continued. “And again, I tell the Iranian leaders, you better not start shooting because we’ll start shooting too.”
Even with that threat, Iranian leaders are cracking down on protesters, cutting off internet and phone access. The country’s attorney general says anyone protesting will be considered an ‘enemy of god’, which is a death penalty charge there.
Iran’s supreme leader also lashed out at President Trump in multiple posts, writing on Sunday, “ the rioters have placed their hope” in Trump, adding that “if he’s so capable, he should manage his own country.”