President Donald Trump shared a brief but direct message to protesters in Iran on Tuesday morning.
“Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!! Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump added that he has “cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS.”
“HELP IS ON ITS WAY,” Trump said, adding “MIGA,” meaning “make Iran great again.”
Trump had previously indicated plans to meet with regime leaders, but on Tuesday said he had canceled meetings until the killings of protesters stopped.
Trump is scheduled to meet with his senior national security team on Tuesday to discuss a possible U.S. response to the regime’s deadly crackdown.
Anti-regime protests have gained momentum in Iran over the past two weeks, in response to Iran’s failing economy and rampant inflation.
While multiple reports indicate hundreds of protesters have been killed in Iran, the real death toll is likely much higher, according to a Middle East policy expert.
“I think that thousands, if not over 10,000, are probably dead,” Gregg Roman, executive director of the Middle East Forum, told The Daily Signal, pointing to images of makeshift morgues coming out of Iran.
The protests are the largest demonstrations against the regime in years, and Trump threatened last week to take action if the crackdown on protests turned deadly.
“Air strikes would be one of the many, many options that are on the table for the commander in chief,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday, adding, “Diplomacy is always the first option for the president.”
Information coming out of Iran is limited due to regime-imposed internet blackouts, Reuters reports, although some Iranians have been able to access the internet through Starlink.
On Monday, Trump announced new tariffs on countries doing business with Iran.
“Effective immediately, any Country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a Tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America,” Trump said, adding that the “Order is final and conclusive.”
This is a developing story and may be updated.
