Iran security chief threatens regional fallout after Trump warnings

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, warned the US of regional consequences following Donald Trump's remarks. He cautioned Washington that US involvement would lead to "chaos across the entire region" and damage American interests. In a post on X, Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, accused Trump of initiating what he described as “adventurism,” telling Americans to “watch over their soldiers.” Comments by Trump and Israeli officials, Larijani said, had exposed what he called the “behind-the-scenes” dynamics. US involvement would lead to “chaos across the entire region” and damage American interests, , Larijani said without addressing reports of protesters killed by security forces. "Iranians will not allow foreign interference in addressing the country’s problems," Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Friday, responding to a warning by Donald Trump over the protests.

Meanwhile, Saeed Shahvari, the Chief Justice of Iran's Lorestan province, said several protesters had been arrested in recent days in the cities of Azna and Delfan, without specifying the number of detainees. He said he had instructed judicial authorities and public and revolutionary prosecutors in both cities to take "legal, judicial and decisive action" against what he described as rioters and those disrupting public order and security, reported BBC Pashto.Iranian media reported that a police headquarters in Azna was attacked during the protest, leaving three people dead and 17 injured.The state-run Fars News Agency said a group of "rioters" exploited the protest gathering in Azna to attack the police headquarters.Protesters in Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan provinces joined the nationwide demonstrations against the Khamenei regime on Friday. The Iran International reported that they chanted the slogan "Death to the dictator".

Ahmad Alamolhoda, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's representative in Iran's Razavi Khorasan province, has claimed that footage and slogans from recent protests were fabricated using artificial intelligence, reported the Iran International. Alamolhoda alleged that Israeli media and what he called "enemy-affiliated outlets" filmed crowds and then used AI technology to superimpose anti-government chants onto the visuals. He said the aim was to create the impression that Iranians have turned against the Islamic Revolution and want the system to collapse.

Australia has condemned the brutal crackdown by Iranian law enforcement authorities and urged Tehran to respect the rights of peaceful protesters, a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said. Canberra said it supports the human rights of the Iranian people. It also reiterated that Iran remains a "do not travel" destination for Australians due to the volatile security situation, reported the Iran International.

Iranians have resisted the Islamic Republic for decades, actress Golshifteh Farahani said, describing the country as “on fire once again” amid renewed unrest. The damage inflicted on Iran’s human and cultural resources, she said, was so severe that “no regime could destroy Iran like this even on purpose.” Iranians, Farahani said, are exhausted by “injustice, corruption, and an economy that crushes them,” while oligarchs grow richer and foreign powers exploit the crisis. “My heart beats with the people of Iran,” she wrote.