The head of Iran’s military threatened pre-emptive action over ‘rhetoric’ aimed at the country as the regime faces mass protests. Iranian Major General Amir Hatami was likely responding to President Donald Trump’s warning that America would act if force was used against protesters.
Trump recently made it clear that the US would intervene if it saw Iran mistreating or killing protesters.
The president wrote on Truth Social: “If Iran shoots [sic] and violently kills peaceful demonstrators, as is their custom, the United States of America will come to their aid. We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”
Trump’s warning took on new meaning for Iran after the historic US mission in Venezuela that led to the capture and extradition of Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.
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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 spoke to students at the military academy, said: “The Islamic Republic considers the intensification of such rhetoric against the Iranian nation as a threat and will not leave its continuation without response,” The Associated Press quoted state news agency IRNA as saying.
He added: “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, he will face a more decisive response, and we will cut off the hand of any aggressor.”
Economic problems have led to an uprising among the Iranian people, and the international backlash over the treatment of protesters has led to regime officials feeling threatened, especially by the US and Israel.
Protesters hold signs during a demonstration in Iran amid ongoing unrest, according to footage released by Iranian opposition group National Council of Resistance of Iran. (NCRI)
Iran stands on brink as protesters move to take two cities, appeal to Trump
In an effort to quell the unrest, the Iranian government began paying the equivalent of $7 a month to subsidize rising food costs for staples such as rice, meat and pasta. Iranian state television reported that the subsidy will go to more than 71 million people across the country, according to the AP. The newspaper noted that the new subsidy is more than double the 4.5 million rials the people had previously received.
Iranian retailers have warned that prices for things like base oil could triple under pressure from the collapse of the country’s currency, the AP reported. Iranian media have also reportedly covered the rise in prices of basic goods, including cooking oil, poultry and cheese.
Protesters march in central Tehran, Iran, Monday, December 29, 2025. (Fars News Agency via AP)
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Iran’s vice president in charge of executive affairs, Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah, told reporters that the country was in a “full-fledged economic war,” according to the AP. He called for “economic surgery” to end rentier policies and corruption within Iran, the AP added.
The protests began late last month and showed no signs of stopping. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) claimed that the cities of Abdanan (Ilam province) and Malekshahi had actually been “taken over” by demonstrators.
