Trump says Iran is getting close to crossing the 'red line' and vows to look at 'strong options' after 'deaths of 500 protesters' | Retrui News | Retrui
Trump says Iran is getting close to crossing the 'red line' and vows to look at 'strong options' after 'deaths of 500 protesters'
SOURCE:Daily Mail
Donald Trump has warned Iran it is close to crossing a 'red line' after the nation's security forces killed a reported 500 protesters during a brutal crackdown against demonstrations in Tehran.
Donald Trump has warned Iran it is close to crossing a 'red line' after the nation's security forces killed a reported 500 protesters during a brutal crackdown against demonstrations in Tehran.
The US President told reporters on Air Force One that he and his team were 'looking at some very strong options' against the Middle Eastern nation.
Trump has intensified his public statements since the protests began, warning Iranian authorities against using force and repeatedly expressing support for what he has described as a push for freedom.
'Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before,' the president previously noted in a post to his Truth Social account, adding that 'the USA stands ready to help!!!'
The State Department has echoed a hardline tone, pointing to previous US actions against adversarial governments as evidence that Trump follows through on his warnings.
'Do not play games with President Trump. When he says he'll do something, he means it,' a recent social media post from the State Department read.
Speaking to journalists onboard the presidential plane last night, Mr Trump said: 'There seem to be some people killed that aren't supposed to be killed.
'These are violent - if you call them leaders, I don't know if they're leaders or just they rule through violence - but we're looking at it very seriously.
President Donald Trump (pictured last week) has warned Iran it is close to crossing a 'red line' and said he is 'looking at some very strong options' after the nation's security forces killed a reported 500 protesters during a brutal crackdown against demonstrations in Tehran
Flames rise from burning debris in the middle of a street in Gorgan on January 10, 2026, as protesters set fire to makeshift barricades near a religious centre during ongoing anti-regime demonstrations
Rubina Aminian, 23, was shot in the back of the head by Irainian security services after joining the street protests after a day of classes in her textiles programme at Shariati College on Thursday
'The military's looking at it. We're looking at some very strong options, we'll make a determination.'
As the casualties begin to pile-up in Tehran, with one video showing an estimated 180 body bags littering the road outside a medical centre in the south of the city, many of the individuals murdered by the regime are starting to be named.
Robina Aminian, 23, was shot in the back of the head at close range as she left college to join one of the dozens of demonstrations sweeping the country.
As human rights groups warned the death toll in Iran has topped 500, Robina's family were forced to search through 'hundreds' of bodies at a makeshift mortuary to find her.
The young Kurd is one of the first identified victims of the Islamic regime's savagery in the face of the uprising on the streets.
Her grieving uncle said the fashion student had a 'thirst for freedom' in a country that has been ruled by hardline clerics for almost half a century.
Protests against the regime were held in London yesterday, starting outside Downing Street before hundreds marched to the Iranian embassy near Hyde Park.
The demonstrators demanded that Labour shut down what they called 'the mullahs' embassy', branding it a 'terrorist factory'.
People take part in a rally in solidarity with protesters in Iran today outside 10 Downing Street
Police try to stop protesters climbing the outside wall toward the Iranian Embassy in London this evening as anti-government demonstrations intensified
A protester throws an object toward the Iranian Embassy as they clash with police in London
Footage shows protesters burning images of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and waving the country's old pre-Islamic flag with its distinctive lion and sun emblem.
Many protesters had placards carrying the image of exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi, who fled to the US with his father, the deposed Shah, after the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
'We want revolution, change the regime,' Afsi, a 38-year-old Iranian who declined to give her last name, said during the rally.
The UK's ambassador to Iran, Hugo Shorter, was summoned to the capital Tehran over the protests in London. Iranian news agency Tasnim said a 'strong' message was conveyed to the ambassador after the 'desecration' of Iran's flag.
Last night, state TV broadcast pictures showing piles of body bags outside a Tehran coroner's office, with i24News reporting claims that families were told: 'Search through them and find your [loved] one.'
Robina's killing came as Trump weighed up whether to order military action in support of the protesters, who have continued to stage mass demonstrations despite a bloody crackdown by security services who have cut off the internet to stop the world watching.
Kemi Badenoch yesterday broke ranks with Labour to support military intervention.
Ministers have backed away from the idea of direct Western involvement, with Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander yesterday saying Labour wanted a 'peaceful transition' of power.
Many Iranians now believe exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi, who fled to the US with his father, the deposed Shah, after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, will be their next leader
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) military personnel march in a parade in September 2024. Senior MPs and peers urged Keir Starmer on Sunday to proscribe Iran's the IRGC as a terrorist organisation - as the US, Canada, Australia and Israel have already done
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch (pictured) said it would be right for the US to help oust the Islamic Republic's leadership and indicated she would support RAF involvement if necessary
But Mrs Badenoch said the US was right to consider military force, hailing the 'extraordinary' protests which have broken out in the past fortnight.
The Tory leader indicated that she would back RAF strikes against the Iranian regime as part of a 'broad coalition' of countries led by the US.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the possibility of American intervention with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the weekend.
President Trump said America 'stands ready to help' deliver freedom in a country that has clashed with the US for decades.
It was reported yesterday that the White House was considering 'all options' for intervention. Sources said that most of the options put to Trump were 'non-kinetic', meaning they would not involve direct military strikes.
One source told the Daily Mail: 'The Americans certainly haven't ruled out striking the regime. They are in touch with their regional allies who are assessing the situation.'
Anti-government protests were triggered by anger over rampant inflation, but quickly escalated to calls for the departure of Khamenei, who has ruled the country with an iron fist since 1989.
Iran has threatened reprisals against any Western intervention, and blames the protests on US and Israeli agitators.
Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, speaker of the Iranian parliament, yesterday warned the US against a 'miscalculation' as colleagues chanted 'Death to America.'
Iranian protesters have intensified their challenge to the clerical leadership of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (seen here attending a gathering of the people of Qom in Tehran on January 8, 2026)
Members of The Association of Anglo-Iranian Women in the UK hold a solidarity rally calling for the British government to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation on Sunday
Senior MPs and peers yesterday urged Keir Starmer to proscribe Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation as a show of solidarity with the demonstrators. Several countries, including the US, Canada and Australia, have already designated the IRGC as a terrorist group.
The US-based human rights group HRANA said it had verified the deaths of 490 protesters and 48 security personnel, with more than 10,600 arrested.
The estimated number killed more than doubled in 24 hours amid the regime's desperate bid to ensure its own survival.
Tehran last night announced three days of mourning in honour of those killed in the 'national resistance battle'.
Iran's attorney general has warned that anyone protesting will be deemed an 'enemy of God' – an offence that carries the death penalty. But the limited social media footage available suggests mass protests continue.
Ms Aminian was shot dead on Thursday as she left college to join a demonstration in Tehran.
Her uncle Nezar Minouei told CNN: 'She was a strong girl, a courageous girl – not someone you could control or make decisions for. She fought for what she knew was right, and she fought hard. She was thirsty for freedom, thirsty for women's rights – her rights. She was alive. She lived.'
After learning of her death, Robina's family travelled from their home in Kermanshah, only to be taken to a location near the college where they were forced to sift through the bodies of hundreds of young people killed during the protests.
According to Iran Human Rights (IHR), Robina's mother was made to search among the dead.
A source told IHR: 'Most of the victims were between 18 and 22 years old and had been shot at close range in the head or neck.'
Robina's relatives were forced to bury her by the road between Kermanshah and Kamyaran, her uncle said.