'Locked and loaded': Trump threatens Iran in new late-night post

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 26, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Donald Trump has never been one to shy away from agitated late-night social media screeds, and in his latest post, he threatened to attack a foreign nation grappling with nationwide protests, claiming that the US was "locked and loaded."

At a little before 3 a.m. ET on Friday morning, Trump took to his official Truth Social account with a post about Iran. The Middle Eastern country is currently in the midst of nationwide anti-government protests, which turned violent on Thursday when reports emerged that six people had been killed. Trump's post notably followed a Fox News report about these killings, another example of Trump's oft-observed habit of making public statements about the things he sees on the conservative news network.

"If Iran shots [sic] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue," Trump posted. "We are locked and loaded and ready to go. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

Late-night posts of this nature have become increasingly common during Trump's second term in the White House. Numerous White House staff members have indicated in interviews that the president has a habit of staying up for long periods of time and forgoing sleep. While these comments try to commend Trump for his stamina and seeming ability to work long hours, he has also frequently been spotted appearing to fall asleep during meetings and public addresses.

According to a report from the Daily Beast, protests initially broke out in Iran last weekend among shopkeepers upset about the declining value of the nation's currency, the rial. As the week wore on, students from at least 10 colleges joined the protests calling for an end to the nearly four decade-long rule of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Earlier last year, Trump raised concerns about sparking a new global conflict after ordering missile strikes against Iran's Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear facilities, following days of back-and-forth strikes between Iran and Israel. Trump initially claimed that these strikes had "completely and totally obliterated" Iran's nuclear capacities, but a UN watchdog report later concluded that the strikes had only set the country back by a few months.

The protests are said to be the largest in the nation since 2022, when the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been in police custody over allegedly breaking mandatory hijab laws. According to the BBC, however, this latest round of protests have not reached the size of those 2022 protests just yet.

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