"Support for the brave people"…After Trump, the US secretary of state also watches Iran protests

As anti-government protests in Iran intensify day after day, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed support, calling them the "brave people of Iran."

On the 10th (local time), Rubio wrote on his X account (formerly Twitter), "The United States supports the brave people of Iran." The post is seen as in line with repeated warnings from President Donald Trump's administration that the US could intervene in the situation in Iran.

President Trump said the previous day that if the Iranian government kills anti-government protesters, the US would intervene militarily.

Speaking at a meeting with oil and gas executives at the White House the previous day, Trump was asked by reporters when the US would intervene in the Iran situation. He said, "If they start killing people like they did in the past, we'll intervene," adding, "We will hit Iran's sore spot very hard."

Iranian authorities are continuing a hard-line crackdown on demonstrators. They also claim the US and Israel are making the protests violent.

Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, asserted in a letter sent to the UN Security Council (UNSC) the previous day that peaceful protests had turned violent and that the US was responsible. He condemned what he called the US' "ongoing, illegal and irresponsible acts of interference in Iran's internal affairs through threats and incitement, deliberate destabilization and the fomenting of violence, together with the Israeli regime."

On the same day, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei blamed the anti-government protests on the US, saying, "The Islamic Republic will not back down."

Addressing President Trump, he rebuked him to focus on problems at home, saying that history shows arrogant rulers have been toppled when their arrogance reached its peak.

The protests, which initially erupted over discontent stemming from hardship, have continued for a 13th day through the previous day, with public anger turning toward the leadership, including Khamenei.

Authorities responded with measures such as internet shutdowns to control public opinion, but the protests are gradually spreading and intensifying. Casualties are also rising amid bloody clashes between demonstrators and authorities.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) estimated that a total of 62 people—civilians and security forces combined—had been killed through the previous day. The non-governmental organization Iran Human Rights (IHR) estimated protester deaths at 45, with detainees reaching 2,000.

Shin Min-kyung, Hankyung.com reporter radio@hankyung.com