U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that the United States is prepared to intervene if Iran violently suppresses peaceful protesters, signaling heightened tensions over the country’s ongoing unrest.

“We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, emphasizing the U.S. commitment to protect civilians should Iranian security forces resort to lethal measures.

The warning comes amid Iran’s largest demonstrations in three years, sparked by economic hardship and widespread frustration over a sharp currency slide and soaring prices. The unrest began when shopkeepers protested on Sunday and has since spread across multiple provinces, resulting in several deaths during clashes with security forces.

Iran’s economic difficulties have been deepening since 2018, when Trump reimposed sanctions following the U.S. withdrawal from the international nuclear deal. Analysts say these sanctions have exacerbated inflation and unemployment, contributing to the scale and intensity of the current protests.