The ambassador’s stark message comes as Iranian dissidents testify to the regime’s clampdown on nationwide protests.
The United States said on Thursday that all options remain on the table to stop Iran’s violent suppression of nationwide protests, as U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz gave a clear message during an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting held at Washington’s request.
“Colleagues, let me be clear: President [Donald] Trump is a man of action, not endless talk like we see at the United Nations. He has made it clear that all options are on the table to stop the slaughter. And no one should know that better than the leadership of the Iranian regime,” Waltz said, reaffirming the U.S. president’s stance.
The meeting underscored international alarm over Iran’s crackdown on protests that began on Dec. 28, 2025, amid economic collapse and a failing currency.
Protests have taken place in more than 500 locations across 180 cities and towns over the past nineteen days, undermining theocratic rule despite authorities’ efforts to squash them via a nationwide internet and communication blackout. Trump has warned the regime against employing deadly force.
Activists claim a death toll of at least 2,637, including seven children. A U.S.-based human rights group conjectures there have been more than 500 killed and approximately 10,600 detained.
Two Iranian dissidents, Masih Alinejad and Ahmad Batebi, testified at the meeting’s opening, asked by the United States to share accounts of human rights abuses.
“You have tried to kill me three times,” Alinejad said, speaking to the Iranian representative directly. “I have seen my would-be assassin with my own eyes in front of my garden, in my home in Brooklyn.”
Batebi, describing his own experiences of torture, said, “If you do not believe me, I can show you my body right now.”
He called on Trump, “You encouraged people to go into the streets. That was a good thing. But don’t leave them alone.”
Waltz rejected Iran’s claims that the protests are the result of foreign interference.
“Everyone in the world needs to know that the regime is weaker than ever before, and therefore is putting forward this lie because of the power of the Iranian people in the streets. They are afraid. They’re afraid of their own people.”
