(Image credits: X @StateDept)

The US State Department issued an unusual warning to Iran’s leadership as unrest spread across the country, posting a sharply worded message in Persian that underscored President Donald Trump’s willingness to act amid the growing crisis.“President Trump is a man of action. If you didn’t know before, now you do. Don’t mess with President Trump,” the State Department said in a post on Monday on its Persian-language X account, a message seen as aimed at Iran’s leaders.The warning came as President Donald Trump threatened to intervene if Iranian security forces use deadly force against protesters. The unrest, which has left several people dead, is the largest demonstration since 2022 and comes amid soaring inflation, a record collapse of Iran’s currency, and growing civil disobedience.“If Iran violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue,” Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier. “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”Also read | ‘Locked & loaded’: Trump issues stark warning to Iran as protests rage; vows to ‘rescue’ protestersTrump did not specify what actions the United States might take. Washington has long imposed sweeping financial sanctions on Tehran, and US presidents have generally been wary of direct military engagement in Iran. However, in June, Trump ordered airstrikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.Videos circulating online show demonstrators chanting slogans such as “Death to the Dictator” and “Death to Khamenei” while clashing with security forces. According to the New York Post, additional footage from the MEK shows crowds across Iran chanting “Death to Khamenei!” and “Shame on you, shame on you!” as protests—particularly led by bazaar merchants in Tehran—continue to spread nationwide.