No major change in troop levels after Trump says US is ‘locked and loaded’ to defend Iranian protesters

By Alayna Treene, Kevin Liptak, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump was seeking to send a “strong warning” to Iran on Friday when he suggested in an early morning Truth Social post that the US would forcibly intervene if Tehran shot and killed protesters. But as of now, there have been no major changes to troop levels in the region and no direct action has been taken, officials told CNN.

“At this point it was a strong warning, no action has been taken that I’m aware of,” a White House official said.

Trump had provocatively written just before 3 a.m. on Truth Social, “If Iran shots [sic] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go.” The post — the administration’s first official statement on the deadly protests that have broken out across several of Iran’s provinces this week — drew immediate backlash from Iranian officials, who warned that American troops in the region could be targeted if Washington were to intervene.

Though the remark appeared to suggest military action, a US official said that no major changes have been made to troop levels, nor have their been preparations in the Middle East. US Central Command declined to comment. CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.

The US has a variety of options to support Iranian protesters, according to officials familiar with the matter, though many stop short of full military intervention. Among them are steps previously taken by President Joe Biden’s administration during widespread protests in 2022, such as bolstering internet connectivity using satellites, which would stymie efforts by the regime to cut off access to information. It could also include new sanctions against regime figures or sectors of Iran’s economy.

And if Trump gave the order, the US could pursue more secretive actions, including cyber operations to disrupt regime activities.

The president’s Friday post drew predictably mixed reactions from Republican lawmakers. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a strong ally-turned critic of Trump who is retiring from Congress this month, said Friday that Trump “threatening war and sending in troops to Iran is everything we voted against in ‘24.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is generally more hawkish on foreign policy matters and supportive of Trump, argued that, “On the peace and standing up to evil front, President Trump is on pace to surpass the great Ronald Reagan.”

“A weakened Iran – a nation run by religious nazis – is due to President Trump’s efforts to isolate Iran economically and to use military force wisely. It is time to Make Iran Great Again,” he posted to X.

Trump’s threat comes amid rising tensions between the US and Iran following his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida earlier this week. During their meeting, the two leaders discussed the possibility of renewed military action against Tehran, months after a 12-day war between Israel and Iran ended with the US striking Iranian nuclear facilities.

Trump vowed on Monday to “knock the hell out of” Iran should the country attempt to rebuild its nuclear program.

“If it’s confirmed, they know the consequences, and the consequences will be very powerful, maybe more powerful than the last time,” Trump said.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian responded that “any cruel aggression” toward his country would be met with a “harsh and discouraging” response.

Trump appeared to be following the unrest in Iran for some time, referencing the topic in comments to reporters Monday.

“They’ve got a lot of problems,” he said. “They have tremendous inflation. Their economy is bust – economy is no good. And I know that people aren’t so happy. But don’t forget, every time they have a riot or somebody forms a group, little or big, they start shooting people.”

“You know, they kill people. And the people tend to – I’ve watched this for years, there’s tremendous discontent,” Trump added. “They form 100,000, 200,000 people, all of a sudden people start getting shot and that group disbands pretty quickly. So I’ve watched it for years. They’re vicious, vicious people.”

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CNN’s Haley Britzky contributed to this report.