In a brief post on social media, he wrote: "We are locked and loaded and ready to go." He gave no further details. A senior adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded by saying Trump should "be careful" if he intervened, warning of potential chaos across the Middle East. At least eight people are reported to have been killed in Iran after almost a week of mass protests sparked by worsening economic conditions. In Friday's post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: "If Iran shots [sic] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue."

In his post, the US president did not specify what action Washington could take against the Iranian authorities. In June, the US carried out strikes against Iran's nuclear sites on Trump's orders. American officials later argued that the strikes had significantly set back the prospect of Tehran building a nuclear weapon - a claim disputed by Iran. In retaliation, Iran launched a missile attack on a major US military base in Qatar. Shortly after Trump's latest social media post, Khamenei adviser Ali Larijani issued a warning of his own. "Trump should know that US interference in this internal matter would mean destabilising the entire region and destroying America's interests," he wrote. (BBC)