The son of a senior officer, Nourali Shoushtari, was also killed in the Ahmadabad area of Mashhad, in the northeast. Meanwhile, two other security personnel were killed over the past two nights in Shushtar, in Khuzestan province. On Friday, Khamenei accused protesters of acting on behalf of US President Donald Trump, warning that authorities would not tolerate people acting as “mercenaries for foreigners”.
Trump hinted at intervention if security forces violently crack down on the protesters. “You better not start shooting because we’ll start shooting too,” he said on Friday. “I just hope the protesters in Iran are going to be safe, because that’s a very dangerous place right now.” Meanwhile, Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said: “The United States supports the brave people of Iran.” Leaders in Germany, France and the UK issued a joint statement condemning the killing of protesters and urging Tehran to refrain from violence.
