'Help is on its way,' Trump tells Iranians as he urges them to keep protesting

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U.S President Donald Trump on Monday Jan 12, 2026 urged protesters in Iran to continue their demonstrations, saying that “help is on its way,” in what appeared to be his strongest signal yet of potential U.S. involvement. Trump makes the remark during a press conference of the Detroit Economic Club in Deroit on Tuesday Jan 13, 2026. "All Iranian patriots keep protesting, take over your institution if possible, and save the name of the killers and the abusers who are abusing you." "I’ve canceled all meetings with the Iranian officials until the senseless killing of protesters stops. Help is on it way. I put tariffs on anybody doing business with Iran just went into effect today." "I say make Iran great again. You know it was a great country until these monsters came in and took it over." The comments marked the clearest indication so far that Trump may be considering some form of direct intervention, though he provided no details on what the promised “help” would entail. Trump also said he was cancelling planned meetings with Iranian officials, stating that talks would not resume “until the senseless killing stops.” Accurate casualty figures remain difficult to verify, however, due to a prolonged internet blackout across Iran, which has severely limited the flow of information. The blackout has made it challenging to independently assess the number of people killed or injured in clashes between demonstrators and security forces. Iranian authorities have not officially confirmed the figures. The US state department has said US citizens should leave Iran now and “if safe to do so, consider departing Iran by land to Armenia or Türkiye”. The US virtual embassy for Iran says citizens should “plan alternative means of communication” due to “continued internet outages” and “have a plan for departing that does not rely on US government help”.