Iran’s leadership lashed out Friday after US President Donald Trump threatened intervention amid deadly protests, with Iranian officials warning that American troops in the region could be targeted if Washington interferes, said media reports.

The protests, now in its sixth day, has left several dead and posed the biggest internal threat to Iranian authorities in years.

“We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” Trump said in a social media post.

The United States bombed Iranian nuclear facilities in June, joining an Israeli air campaign that targeted Tehran’s atomic programme and military leadership.

“If Iran shots (sic) and 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. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President Donald Trump,” he wrote on Truth Social on Friday.

Dozens of protesters took to the streets across several of Iran’s provinces this week, with some demonstrations turning deadly Wednesday after clashes with police, reported CNN.

Iranian officials issued stern warnings against US intervention in the country’s internal affairs. Ali Larijani, Iran’s national security chief, said on X that American interference would trigger “disruption across the entire region and the destruction of American interests.”

Ali Shamkhani, a close adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, declared Iran’s national security a “red line.”

“Every hand of intervention that approaches Iranian security…will be cut off with a regrettable response,” he said on X.

The most direct threat came from Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran’s parliament, who warned that Iran would target US forces in the Middle East should Washington intervene.

“The disrespectful President of America should also know that with this official statement, all American centers and forces across the entire region will be legitimate targets for us in response to any potential actions,” Ghalibaf said.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that the country’s armed forces “are on standby and know exactly where to aim” if the country’s sovereignty is put at risk.

In a separate statement, the foreign ministry called Washington’s threat a violation of international law and said any aggression against Iran would be met with a “decisive and comprehensive” response.

Trump’s threats against Iran create a “stark strategic dilemma” for Washington, Ali Vaez, the director of the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group, said.

“If the US fails to follow through, it risks emboldening the regime and discouraging future dissent, yet meaningful intervention could escalate into a broader conflict with unpredictable consequences for both the US and the Iranian people.”

Protests continued on Friday. In Tehran, dozens of people chanted slogans against the regime, video from IranWire showed. “Freedom, freedom, freedom,” one group yelled as they marched through the streets of the capital. Others chanted, “Down with dictator,” as they gathered at a square in the Narmak neighborhood.