Perhaps feeling emboldened by a successful operation in Venezuela and strikes against ISIS in Syria, President Trump reacted to nationwide unrest in Iran with threats of military force against Tehran.

Fueled by the value of the rial — the Iranian currency — reaching a new low against the U.S. dollar at the close of 2025, popular unrest has grown over the past couple of weeks. The weakness of the currency has upset Iranians across multiple economic classes, kindling a simmering resentment of increasing wealth disparity and the rise of a corrupt elite. Frustration among bazaaris and merchants spread to university campuses, which led to open protests and inevitable clashes with police and other security forces. ^{1, 2}

Minutes ago, Iran International, citing the Times, reported that President Trump has been briefed on military options against Tehran in recent days in response to Iran’s crackdown on protesters. ³

Who’s in Charge in Iran?
While Iran has an elected president, he is the second-highest Iranian government official. The Islamic Republic actually operates as a theocracy ruled by its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

While Iran’s president initially struck a conciliatory tone, the Ayatollah promised the government would not back down and linked the protests to President Trump in a televised speech on Friday. Mr. Trump warned Iran the U.S. would “start shooting” if Iran fired on the protesters, hinting at air strikes. ^{4, 5}

Recall that Iran was mentioned as one of five major targets for the U.S. State Department in Project 2025. ⁶

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1. Solomon, E., Mahoozi, S., & Varghese, S. (2026, January 10). Inside Iran’s Protests: How a Plunging Currency Set Off Wide Unrest. The New York Times. Retrieved January 10, 2026, from https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/10/world/europe/iran-protests-economy-currency-collapse.html ↩︎
2. Millions of Iranians take to the streets as protest death toll hits 42. (2026, January 9). Iran International. https://www.iranintl.com/en/202601092353 ↩︎
3. Trump briefed on new options for striking Iran – NYT. (2026, January 11). Iran International. https://www.iranintl.com/en/202601117004 ↩︎
4. Khamenei says Trump will fall, targets protesters in speech. (2026, January 9). Iran International. https://www.iranintl.com/en/202601096120 ↩︎
5. DeYoung, K., Torbati, Y., & Taylor, A. (2026, January 9). Khamenei says Iran won’t ‘back down’ amid mass protests and Trump threat. The Washington Post. Retrieved January 10, 2026, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/01/09/iran-protests-khamenei-trump/ ↩︎
6. Farrell, T. (2026b, January 2). Venezuela, Iran among Predefined Priorities for U.S. Department of State. On Current Events. Retrieved January 10, 2026, from https://currentevents.blog/2026/01/02/state-department-venezuela-iran/ ↩︎