January 10, 2026

IRAN PROTESTS: Trump warns Khamenei that US ‘stands ready to help.’

Hundreds of people are feared to have been killed as the Iranian regime launched a fierce crackdown in response to the biggest wave of protests it has faced in years.

Security forces loyal to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, appear to have used the cover of a country-wide internet and phone blackout, which has been in place since Thursday, to open fire on opponents, leaving medical facilities overwhelmed.

On Saturday evening President Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: “Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!”

In some areas regime forces are said to have entered hospitals to arrest injured protesters and to order medical staff not to treat the wounded. One doctor, who did not want to be identified, said six hospitals in the capital, Tehran, had collectively recorded at least 217 deaths on Thursday night alone. The figure could not be independently verified.

The Washington-based Human Rights Activist News Agency put the protest death toll at 72 on Saturday night. That tally only included victims who had been officially identified.

Related: Ayatollah’s power may collapse in less than a week as Iran’s street protests expand.

Earlier:

Posted at 5:15 pm by Ed Driscoll