President Donald Trump is likely about to face a difficult choice: how to enforce his redline warning to Iran not to kill protesters who have taken to the streets. Trump warned on Jan. 2 that if Iran “violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”

Iran has been beset by new protests since late December. Tens of thousands are protesting over the collapse of the country’s rial currency, a reduction in government subsidies, and soaring inflation above 52%. Savings have lost their value, pensioners and those on low to middle incomes are struggling to afford basic food supplies. Tensions boiled over when President Masoud Pezeshkian outlined a 2026 budget providing huge boosts to military-security spending and real-term cuts to salaries and pensions.

Thus far, Iranian human rights and independent news organizations report that fewer than 50 protesters have been killed by security forces. But with protests continuing across Iran, a harsher crackdown is probable. Indicating as much, internet monitors noted that Iranian officials had shut down the country’s internet networks on Thursday. Iran has traditionally done this in preparation for violent crackdowns, seeking to prevent organization among protesters and foreign........

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