Iran’s efforts to quell a wave of anti-government protests have been complicated by U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to intervene on their side, a warning firmly underlined by the subsequent U.S. capture of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, officials and insiders said on Monday.
A day before U.S. special forces seized Maduro and his wife on Jan. 3 and whisked them off to New York, the U.S. president warned in a social media post that if Iran’s leadership killed protesters who have taken to the streets since Dec. 28, the U.S. “will come to their rescue.” At least 17 people have died so far.
Tehran’s options have been limited by Trump’s threats and a long-running economic crisis that deepened after Israel, joined by the U.S., launched strikes on the Islamic Republic in June in a 12-day war that pummeled several of Iran’s nuclear sites.