US President Donald Trump has threatened Iran with “hell” if security forces “start killing people” during the recent demonstrations over the economic crisis and worsening living standards, although human rights organizations report dozens of deaths in the context of the protests.
“I’ve let them know that if they start killing people, as they often do during riots—because they have a lot of riots—if they do that, we’re going to hit them very hard,” he said during a telephone interview with commentator Hugh Hewitt, who told him that, in fact, dozens of people have already died in the Central Asian country.
Trump responded to his interlocutor’s statement by claiming that “some have died due to crowd control issues and other things.” He asserted that there have been at least three stampedes in which people have died.
“I’m not sure I can necessarily hold anyone responsible for that. They know, and they’ve been told very clearly… that if they do that, they’re going to pay a terrible price,” the US president added.
The decline in purchasing power for millions of Iranian citizens—with historic drops in the value of the national currency, the rial—is at the root of the protests, which are also taking place amid increased US sanctions. The US, along with Israel, has once again targeted Iran’s nuclear program, including airstrikes such as those in June, which killed approximately 1,000 people.
