WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's repeated threats to intervene on behalf of anti-government protesters in Iran, bolstered by his administration’s recent capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, have rattled the country's leaders as they brace for what they see as an inevitable Israeli attack.

For more than a week, thousands of Iranians have flooded the streets of Tehran and other Iranian cities to protest the high cost of living in a country battered by Western sanctions, a collapsing currency and the government's economic mismanagement. The demonstrations are the most serious challenge to the regime since 22-year-old Mahsa Amini’s death in the custody of Iran’s morality police triggered nationwide protests in September 2022.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said at least 29 people have died in clashes with security forces, and hundreds have been arrested since shopkeepers and students began protesting on Dec. 28.  

The protesters’ deaths appear to cross the red line Trump issued Friday, writing on Truth Social that if Iran “violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”