President Donald Trump called on Iranian protesters to “keep protesting” and encouraged them to “take over” the Middle Eastern country’s institutions on Tuesday. The president also announced that “help is on its way” as the Iranian regime continues to kill and arrest large numbers of protesters across the country.
In a Tuesday morning statement on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!! Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price.”
In his statement, the president announced that he had “cancelled all meetings” with Iranian government officials until the Iranian regime put a stop to the “senseless killing of protesters.” “HELP IS ON ITS WAY,” Trump added. “MIGA!!!”
Trump previously told reporters on Sunday that Iran was “starting to” cross his “red line” by killing peaceful protesters in recent days.
“There seemed to be some people killed that aren’t supposed to be killed,” Trump said. “But we’re looking at it very seriously. The military’s looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options. We’ll make a determination.”
The president also told reporters on Sunday that Iran’s leaders had called him and wanted to negotiate.” At the time, Trump indicated that a meeting was being “set up” with Iranian officials; however, he warned that the United States “may have to act” prior to the meeting due to the concerning reports coming out of Iran regarding the regime’s response to nationwide protests.
READ MORE: Videos: Trump issues major warning to Iran as hundreds of protests are killed
Fox News reported that Iranian officials have killed at least 646 protesters since the latest wave of nationwide protests started and that thousands of other deaths are expected to be confirmed in the coming days.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt explained on Monday that Trump is “very good” at “keeping all of his options on the table” and that one of the options at the president’s disposal would be military air strikes against Iran.
“Diplomacy is always the first option for the president,” Leavitt told reporters. She added, “However, with that said, the president has shown he’s unafraid to use military options if and when he deems necessary, and nobody knows that better than Iran.”
