President Donald Trump called on Iranians to keep protesting and promised “help is on its way” on Tuesday, a sign that he may soon authorize U.S. military strikes against the country’s leadership.
“Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price. I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY.”
Trump has repeatedly threatened military action against Iran if the country’s leadership continues to crack down on protests.
Read more: What’s Happening in Iran Right Now, Explained
Demonstrations began two weeks ago in Tehran’s bazaars over rampant inflation, but have since spiraled into wider protests across the country against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his regime, which has ruled the country since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
An internet blackout across the country has prevented effective communication with the outside world, but some estimates of the death toll from the crackdown have reached the thousands.
A volunteer group of analysts, working from Tehran hospital reports, told TIME the death toll nationwide could be as high as 6,000. Images smuggled out of the country showed a Tehran-area morgue packed with hundreds of bodies from Thursday night alone.
Over the weekend, Trump was reportedly briefed on a number of military options to strike Iran, but had not yet made a final decision.
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a close ally of Trump who has been influential in shaping his policy on Iran, shared his prediction on what an attack on Iran might look like.
“No boots on the ground, but unleashing holy hell — as he promised — on the regime that has trampled every red line. A massive wave of military, cyber and psychological attacks is the meat and bones of ‘help is on the way’,” he wrote on X.
“What am I looking for? Destroy the infrastructure that allows the massacre and slaughter of the Iranian people, and take down the leaders responsible for the killing,” he added.
Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, warned on Sunday that both Israel and “all American military centers, bases and ships in the region will be our legitimate targets” in the event of an attack.
“We do not consider ourselves limited to reacting after the action and will act based on any objective signs of a threat,” he added.
Trump’s message comes just over a week after the U.S. military removed Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro from power. The U.S. continues to mass an unusually large number of troops in the Caribbean Sea.
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