Trump reacts to protests in Iran. WSJ announces preliminary discussion of strikes
Donald Trump (Photo: AARON SCHWARTZ/EPA)

President of the United States Donald Trump said that his country is ready to help Iranians protesting against the current regime in their country. At the same time, The Wall Street Journal, citing interlocutors, writes that the US administration has held preliminary discussions on a possible attack on the Islamic Republic.

"Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social social network.

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Unnamed U.S. officials told the WSJ that White House officials have had preliminary discussions about how to launch an attack on Iran if necessary to carry out the U.S. president's threats.

In particular, they discussed which objects could become targets of an attack, the media reports.

One of the interlocutors noted that a large-scale air strike on several military targets of the Islamic Republic is among the options.

Another official stated that no consensus on a course of action had been reached and that no military equipment or personnel had been moved to prepare for a strike.

The officials also cautioned that these discussions are part of normal planning. According to them, there are no signs of an imminent US attack on Iran.

The last time the United States attacked the country was in June 2025 – under attack were nuclear capacity Islamic Republic, which, according to Washington, were part of a nuclear weapons program.

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The day before, on the evening of January 9, Human Rights Activists in Iran reported that at least 65 people had died during the protests against the regime (29 victims were killed earlier in the week), more than 2,300 people were arrested, and the actions spread to 180 cities.

According to the organization, most of the dead were protesters.

The increase in the number of victims came amid reports that Iranian security forces are using lethal force against protesters.

  • on January 8, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommended that Ukrainian citizens leave the territory of Iran due to the complicated security situation.
  • Semyvolos, Director of the Center for Middle East Studies, explained in an interview with LIGA.net that there are positive and negative for Ukraine scenarios for the development of protests in Iran.
  • The expert also noted that the authority of the son of the last Shah, Reza Pahlavi, is growing in Iran, and slogans are increasingly heard in the central provinces of the country "Long live the Shah".