Retired Army Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer told Newsmax on Friday that a multifaceted U.S. strategy aimed at weakening the Iranian regime is tied directly to the protests sweeping the country and to a recent comment by President Donald Trump on Truth Social about supporting the demonstrators.
On "American Agenda," Shaffer said the unrest in Iran stems from a collapsing economy marked by a plunging currency, water shortages, and energy problems that have eroded basic living conditions.
Iranian authorities have struggled to manage the crises while firing the head of the central bank — an action Shaffer said would not address the deep-rooted problems fueling public anger.
Instead, he said, Iran's top leaders are resorting to superficial measures such as blaming cold weather to discourage protesters.
"What they're really afraid of is those people going after their government big time," Shaffer said, connecting the internal unrest to broader pressure from Washington on Tehran.
Shaffer said the U.S. has been working through what he described as "destabilization" tactics, including operations against Iran's "shadow fleet," a network used to evade sanctions and export oil.
The targeting of these vessels, he noted, has drawn complaints from Russia, Venezuela, and Iran itself because it cuts into crucial revenue for the regime.
"The quicker we can defund the mullahs, the quicker the government can fall and the people can take charge," Shaffer said, linking economic pressure with the hope that the unrest will expand into a broader political challenge to Iran's leadership.
His remarks came as Trump took to Truth Social early Friday to warn the Islamic regime that the U.S. would intervene if Iranian forces slaughter peaceful protests.
"If Iran [shoots] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue," Trump wrote. "We are locked and loaded and ready to go."
Trump's post underscores an administration foreign policy posture that publicly backs demonstrators while pressuring Iran economically and diplomatically.
Iranian officials have denounced such comments as interference in their internal affairs and warned of regional destabilization if the U.S. intervenes.
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