Jan. 13 (UPI) — President Donald Trump encouraged Iranian protesters to continue challenging the Iranian regime Tuesday amid reports that security forces have killed nearly 2,000 people.
Trump said he canceled all meetings with Iranian officials and said help is coming for Iranian protesters.
“Iranian patriots, keep protesting — Take over your institutions!!!” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
“Save the names of the killers and abusers,” the president said. “They will pay a big price.”
He also said he has “cancelled all meetings with Iranian officials until the senseless killing of protesters stops. Help is on the way. MIGA!!!”
Since the protests on Dec. 28 over the plunging value of Iranian currency and economic turmoil, Iranian security forces have killed at least 1,850 protesters, CNN reported.
Trump and his senior national security team were scheduled to meet Tuesday to assess potential responses to the Iranian uprising that has the ruling regime on the verge of collapse.
Among the options is carrying out one or more military actions against Iran.
“One thing President Trump is very good at is always keeping all of his options on the table,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told media on Monday.
“Airstrikes would be one of the many, many options that are on the table for the commander in chief,” Leavitt said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz recently speculated that the Iranian government is in its final days and could end within weeks, and Trump has announced 25% tariffs on Iran’s trading partners.
The tariffs put more pressure on other nations to cease trade with Iran, which is experiencing runaway inflation that is fueling an economic collapse as the Iranian rial’s value continues a steep drop in value when compared to the U.S. dollar.
Among Iran’s top trading partners are China, India, Iraq, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, which purchase Iranian oil.
The Iranian government on Thursday shut off Internet service across the country, and many Iranians have been without landline and mobile phone services for several days, although CNN reports some are able to place calls to other countries.
Officials in the Russian government have blamed “subversive external interference” for the discord in Iran and said U.S. military action would be “categorically unacceptable,” USA Today reported.
“Those who plan to use externally inspired unrest as a pretext for repeating the aggression against Iran committed in June 2025 must be aware of the disastrous consequences of such actions for the situation in the Middle East and global international security,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The United States, with the help of Israel, bombed three Iranian uranium enrichment sites on June 22.
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