U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday, January 9, 2026, that Iran is in “big trouble” as widespread popular protests continue, renewing his warning of possible military strikes if demonstrators are violently suppressed.

In remarks to reporters, Trump said, “Iran is in big trouble. It seems to me that the people are beginning to take control of certain cities, something no one thought possible just a few weeks ago.”

Asked about his message to Iran’s leaders, Trump said, “They’d better not start shooting, because we will start shooting too.”

He added, “If they begin killing people as they did in the past, we will intervene,” stressing that such intervention “does not mean sending ground troops, but hitting them very hard where it hurts.