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Iran’s military chief threatened preemptive action over “rhetoric” targeting the country as the regime faces mass protests. Iran’s Major General Amir Hatami was likely responding to President Donald Trump’s warning that the US would take action if violence was used against protesters.
Trump had recently made it clear that if America felt that Iran was mistreating or killing protesters, it would take action.
“If Iran fires,” the president wrote on Truth Social [sic] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States will come to their defense. We’re closed and loaded with stuff and ready to go.”
Trump’s warning took on a new meaning for Iran after the historic US mission in Venezuela led to the capture and extradition of Nicolás Maduro and his wife Celia Flores.
Activists say Iran protesters emboldened by Trump administration’s Persian message after Obama-Biden inaction
Iranian military chief Major General Amir Hatami appeared to respond to President Donald Trump’s comments in his latest statement on the ongoing protests. (Masoud Nazari Mehrabi/Iranian Army via AP; Alex Brandon/AP Photo)
Hatami, who was speaking to military academy students, said, according to the Associated Press, “The Islamic Republic considers the intensification of such rhetoric against the Iranian nation a threat and will not continue without a response.”
He said, “I can say with confidence that the preparedness of Iran’s armed forces today is much higher than before the war. If the enemy makes a mistake, it will face a more decisive response and we will cut off the hand of any aggressor.”
The economic crisis has led to an uprising among the Iranian people, and the international reaction to the treatment of protesters has left regime officials feeling threatened, particularly by the US and Israel.
Protesters hold signs during a demonstration amid ongoing unrest in Iran, according to images released by the Iranian opposition group National Council of Resistance of Iran. (NCRI)
Iran on the verge of danger, protesters demand capture of two cities, appeal to Trump
In an effort to ease the unrest, Iran’s government began paying the equivalent of $7 per month to subsidize rising food costs for dinner-table staples such as rice, meat and pasta. According to the AP, Iranian state TV reported that the subsidies would go to more than 71 million people across the country. The new subsidy is more than double the 4.5 million riyals people previously received, the outlet reported.
Iranian shoppers have warned that prices of items such as basic cooking oil could triple under pressure from the country’s falling currency, the AP reports. Iranian media also reportedly covered the rise in prices of basic commodities including cooking oil, poultry and cheese.
Protesters march in downtown Tehran, Iran, on Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (Fars News Agency via AP)
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Mohammad Jafar Ghampanah, Iran’s vice president in charge of executive affairs, told reporters the country was in a “full-scale economic war,” the AP reported. He called for “economic surgery” to rid Iran of rentier policies and corruption, the AP said.
The protests began late last month and show no signs of stopping. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) claimed that the cities of Abdanan (Ilam Province) and Malekshahi were effectively “captured” by protesters.
The Associated Press and Emma Bassey of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
