WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Iranians were “looking at freedom, perhaps like never before” and that Washington was ready to offer support as protests continued to spread across the Middle Eastern country.

“Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. “The USA stands ready to help!!!”

The president later repeated the message in other posts as well while US media reported that Washington was mulling potential strikes against Iran.

Iran has witnessed waves of protests since late December, triggered largely by a sharp decline in the value of the Iranian rial and worsening economic conditions. The demonstrations began on Dec 28 near Tehran’s Grand Bazaar and later spread to several other cities.

On Friday, Trump said Iran was “in big trouble” as unrest grew, adding that the United States was “watching very closely” and warning Iranian authorities against using lethal force against protesters.

Iranian officials have accused the United States and Israel of fomenting the unrest, warning that security forces and the judiciary “will show no tolerance whatsoever toward saboteurs“.

On Saturday, Trump also reposted comments by US Senator Lindsey Graham on his Truth Social platform. In the post on X, the South Carolina lawmaker warned Tehran that its actions against protesters would not go unanswered.

Trump also reposted a Fox News report claiming that a protester had climbed the Iranian embassy in London on Saturday, torn down the current regime’s flag and hoisted a pre-revolutionary symbol.

Meanwhile, US media reports suggested the Trump administration was weighing tougher options. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration had held initial discussions on potential strikes against Iran.

The New York Post separately reported that Washington may carry out preliminary strikes on selected targets, though it did not specify when or which targets could be involved.

Separately, a retired US Navy officer urged the administration to expand support for Iranian protesters in cyberspace. Vice Admiral Robert Harward, a former deputy commander of US Central Command, called on Washington to establish new State Department initiatives to help Iranians gain access to secure virtual private networks (VPNs).

“Approximately 86 per cent of Iranians use VPNs to bypass government restrictions and online surveillance,” Harward wrote in an opinion piece for Fox News, arguing that expanded access to secure VPNs during internet disruptions would allow protesters to organise and communicate “more safely.”

Harward also urged the administration to draw up a target list of Iranian government entities involved in repressing free speech and violating human rights, including military command-and-control centres, cyber police headquarters and morality police facilities.