Trump urges Iranians to keep protesting, says 'help is on its way'

DUBAI (Reuters): U.S. President Donald Trump urged Iranians on Tuesday to keep protesting and said help was on the way, without giving details, as Iran's clerical establishment pressed its crackdown against the biggest demonstrations in years.

 

"Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING - TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!... HELP IS ON ITS WAY," Trump said in a post on Truth Social, adding he had canceled all meetings with Iranian officials until the "senseless killing" of protesters stopped.

 

The unrest, sparked by dire economic conditions, has posed the biggest internal challenge to Iran's rulers for at least three years and has come at a time of intensifying international pressure after Israeli and U.S. strikes last year.

 

An Iranian official said earlier on Tuesday that about 2,000 people had been killed in the protests, the first time authorities have acknowledged the high death toll from more than two weeks of nationwide unrest.

 

The official, speaking to Reuters, said that people he called terrorists were behind the deaths of both protesters and security personnel. The official, who declined to be named, did not give a breakdown of who had been killed.

On Monday evening, Trump announced 25% import tariffs on products from any country doing business with Iran - a major oil exporter. Trump has also said more military action is among options he is weighing to punish Iran over the crackdown.

 

Tehran has not yet responded publicly to Trump's announcement of the tariffs, but it was swiftly criticized by China. Iran, already under heavy U.S. sanctions, exports much of its oil to China, with Turkey, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and India among its other top trading partners.

 

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Al Jazeera on Monday that he had continued to communicate with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff during the protests and that Tehran was studying ideas proposed by Washington.

 

Iranian authorities have accused the U.S. and Israel of fomenting the unrest.