Washington: US President Donald Trump on Monday said ordinary Iranians want continued US military strikes, claiming they see it as a path to freedom amid a crackdown on protests.
“The Iranian people, when they don’t hear bombs go off, they’re upset. They want to hear bombs because they want to be free,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
He said protests inside Iran are being suppressed with force, deterring people from taking to the streets. “If they protest… they will be shot immediately,” Trump said, describing what he called an official directive.
Trump also referred to casualties among demonstrators. “As of this morning… 45,000 protesters have been killed,” he said, calling the situation “pretty bad.”
He argued that the absence of weapons among civilians is a key factor limiting resistance. “In Iran, they have absolutely no weaponry,” Trump said, adding that efforts to arm civilians had not worked as intended.
“We sent guns… they were supposed to go to the people so they could fight back… the people that they sent them to kept them,” he said.
Trump suggested that internal resistance could quickly alter the situation if conditions change. “If they had weapons… Iran would give up in two seconds,” he said.
He maintained that the Iranian public is constrained by fear of reprisals. “They’ve been told point-blank, if you come out… “You will be killed,” Trump said.
The remarks came as part of a broader defence of US actions in Iran, where Trump has argued that military pressure is necessary to achieve political change.
His comments also reflect a narrative that the conflict is being waged, in part, on behalf of the Iranian people rather than solely against the state.
(IANS)
