Shafaq News– Washington/ Tehran

Iran warned the United States on Friday against intervening in its internal affairs, arguing that any such move would destabilize the region, after US President Donald Trump threatened action over protests inside the country.

Trump cautioned, earlier today, that Washington was prepared to intervene militarily if Iranian authorities used lethal force against peaceful demonstrators.

On X, Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said that Tehran distinguishes between economic protesters and what officials described as “destructive elements.”

According to Fars News Agency, authorities in the western city of Kuhdasht arrested 20 people following unrest described by officials as riots and vandalism. The local prosecutor’s office said clashes injured 13 security personnel and killed one member of the Basij from severe wounds, adding that security conditions have since stabilized and that a judicial investigation is underway.

The protests began on December 28 following a sharp decline in the Iranian rial, which fell to a record low of about 1.45 million per US dollar, alongside a surge in food prices. Initial strikes by merchants in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar later spread to many provinces, with demonstrations expanding beyond economic demands to include political slogans.