President Trump declares “help is on the way” to Iranian protesters amid growing calls for action against the regime.
Published January 13, 2026
US President Donald Trump has canceled all meetings with Iranian officials and said he has instructed protesters to “take over institutions” amid Tehran’s crackdown.
“Help is on the way,” Trump said in a social media post Tuesday, without providing further details. President Trump has been openly considering ordering a military attack on Iran in recent days.
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“Iranian patriots, keep protesting. Take over our institutions!!! Please name the murderers and abusers. They will pay a heavy price,” Trump said on his website Truth Social.
“I have canceled all meetings with Iranian officials until the senseless killings of protesters stop. Assistance is on the way. MIGA!!! (MAGA).”
President Trump has threatened Iran with military strikes in the past as a way to pressure the country into more compliance with U.S. demands, and last week said tough responses by Iranian authorities to protesters in the country could lead to a U.S. attack. The US president announced on Monday that countries doing business with Iran would be subject to a 25% tariff.
Asked by reporters on Tuesday what he meant when he said “help is on the way,” Trump did not provide further details.
“You’ll have to think about that. I’m sorry,” he said.
Analysts have warned that the US attack, which is likely to violate international law, could have unintended consequences for Iran, which is currently facing its largest protest movement in years.
“The Iranian people are caught between a repressive regime and a foreign invasion,” Ali Baez, director of the International Crisis Group’s Iran project, told Al Jazeera in a television interview.
“If the president decides to carry out a political beheading in Iran, what happens next? There is no organized and viable opposition within Iran that could quickly take over. Therefore, the more likely scenario is that more repressive elements within the Revolutionary Guards are in power.” “If he (Trump) creates a complete vacuum at the top of the Iranian regime, then the country could descend into violent chaos and civil war, similar to what we saw in Libya, Syria, Yemen, or Iran,” he added.
Human rights groups based outside Iran said hundreds of people had been killed in the protests, and state media said more than 100 security personnel had been killed. Al Jazeera is unable to independently verify these figures as Iran’s internet blackout restricts the flow of information.
