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President Donald Trump said Thursday that Iranians are unable to physically protest against their government because demonstrators are being gunned down by regime forces, including snipers, during a wide-ranging phone interview on ’ “The Five.”
Trump made the remarks when asked about the Iranian people during a broader discussion about Iran on the show.
The comments come as Trump has sought to draw a distinction between Iran’s leadership and its civilian population, arguing the regime maintains control through violence while defending U.S. actions targeting its military capabilities under Operation Epic Fury.
“They’re petrified because the one side has guns and they have very nasty guns,” Trump said. “And what they do is they shoot you, and the people are brave, but they’re not brave when they see people going down left and right. No matter who you are, I don’t care how brave, or unless you’re really sort of stupid, you can’t really protest.”
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Iranian students at al‑Zahra university protest in Tehran in anti-government demonstrations in February. (Reuters)
Trump argued that fear of lethal retaliation has prevented widespread demonstrations across the country.
“And the only reason they’re not protesting is because they’re being shot one after another, and they’re doing it with snipers,” he said.
Trump pointed to past protests led by women in Iran, claiming demonstrators were met with deadly force.
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Iranians gather while blocking a street during a protest Jan. 9 in Tehran. (MAHSA / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)
“It started with the women,” Trump said. “You remember about a year ago, we had 250,000 women. Well, they had women being shot right between the eyes from snipers, four or five snipers in buildings pretty high up and a little far away.”
He described demonstrators falling under gunfire and said that was enough to disperse crowds.
“When you see, and you’re a woman or you’re a man, frankly, and you see a person dropping to the ground, bleeding from the brain badly, and then you see another one on the other side, and then you’ll see five or 6 or 7, that’s all it took,” Trump said. “You run and they ran and they never came back.”
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President Donald Trump gestures before boarding Air Force One. (Mandel Ngan / AFP via Getty Images)
Trump also said the regime had issued direct warnings to deter protests.
“And if you noticed, about two weeks ago, they put out a notice that if you protest, we will shoot you,” he said. “They kill them.”
“The people are brave,” Trump added, but said public protest becomes nearly impossible “when they see people going down left and right.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Trump also repeated claims about Iran’s leadership when asked whether intelligence officials had told him “Ayatollah Junior” — aka Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of late leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — was gay.
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“Well, they did say that, but I don’t know if it was only them,” Trump said. “I think a lot of people are saying that.”
He argued the Iranian regime has been weakened in recent months under Operation Epic Fury, while talks continue.
The interview aired as Trump continues defending U.S. action against Iran while attempting to draw a distinction between the regime and the Iranian people.
