NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday he’ll send the National Guard to address crime concerns in Memphis, Tennessee, his latest test of the limits of presidential power by using military force in American cities.
Speaking on Fox News, Trump said “the mayor is happy” and “the governor is happy” about the pending deployment. Calling the city “deeply troubled,” he said “we’re going to fix that just like we did Washington,” where he’s sent the National Guard and surged federal law enforcement.
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Memphis Mayor Paul Young speaks about the deployment of the National Guard to the city during a news conference Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian via AP)
FILE - Gov. Bill Lee speaks during a news conference announcing The Boring Company's intent to build the Music City Loop, a private transportation tunnel that will connect the airport to downtown, Monday, July 28, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, file)
Members of the Louisiana National Guard patrol the grounds of the Washington Monument at the National Mall, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at LaGuardia Airport, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at LaGuardia Airport, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
A spotted lanternfly flies past President Donald Trump as he boards Air Force One, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., to travel to New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump, center, gestures next to New York Yankees president Randy Levine, front right, during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Tennessee's Republican governor embraced the troop deployment as part of a broader law enforcement surge in Memphis, however Trump’s assertion drew pushback from the Democratic leader of Memphis, which is majority Black.
“I did not ask for the National Guard and I don’t think it’s the way to drive down crime,” Mayor Paul Young told a news conference Friday, while acknowledging the city remained high on too many “bad lists.”
Several Memphis leaders said they welcome federal help but don't think it needs to involve the military. Young committed to trying to help the deployment strengthen the community without distracting from ongoing law enforcement efforts. He said federal officials should aim at the “root source of violent crime” and mentioned rehabilitation and mental health services, jobs and housing needs.
Gov. Bill Lee said he planned to speak with the president on Friday to work out details of the mission. He said he's still ironing out the best role for the National Guard alongside the FBI, state Highway Patrol, city police and other law enforcement agencies.
“I’m grateful for the President’s unwavering support and commitment to providing every resource necessary to serve Memphians," Lee said in a statement. “Memphis remains on a path to greatness, and we are not going to let anything hold them back.”
The governor’s consent to the National Guard stands in sharp contrast to Democratic leaders in states like California and Illinois, who argue similar deployments undermine local authority and inflame tensions. The president has also suggested he could send soldiers to New Orleans, another majority-Black city led by Democrats in a Republican-leaning state.
Since deploying the National Guard to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., Trump has openly mused about sending troops to some of the nation’s most Democratic cities — including Chicago and Portland, Oregon — even as data shows most violent crime in those places and around the country has declined in recent years.
Trump said Friday he decided to send troops into Memphis after Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena — who regularly visited the city while on the board of FedEx — urged him earlier this week to address crime there.
The president’s announcement came just days after Memphis police reported decreases across every major crime category in the first eight months of 2025 compared to the same period in previous years. Overall crime hit a 25-year low, while murder hit a six-year low, police said.
Despite the overall decrease, Memphis has dealt with stubborn gun violence problems for years. In 2023, the city set a record with more than 390 homicides.
Memphis has also seen several high-profile killings in recent years. Rapper and independent music label owner Young Dolph was fatally shot at a cookie shop in November 2021.
In September 2022, schoolteacher Eliza Fletcher was kidnapped during an early morning run, and her body was later found near a vacant duplex. Days later, a man went on a daylong shooting rampage as he drove through the city, leading to a citywide shelter-in-place order. Three people were killed and three others wounded.
Some Republicans want the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to audit the Memphis Police Department’s crime reporting.
Republican state Sen. Brent Taylor, who backs the Memphis troop deployment, said Friday the National Guard could provide “administrative and logistical support" to law enforcement and allow local officers to focus on policework. The state’s two Republican U.S. senators support the intervention.
The governor said Friday the deployment would add momentum to an ongoing FBI operation in Memphis alongside state and local law enforcement which “has already arrested hundreds of the most violent offenders.”
Steve Mulroy, the district attorney for Shelby County, which includes the city of Memphis, said he hoped the governor would tell Trump that a better strategy would be sending more FBI and other federal law enforcement agents, “people with actual training in civilian law enforcement, unlike military troops.”
“These high-profile, short-term military deployments risk seeming performative and leaving no lasting impact,” Mulroy, a Democrat, said Friday.
Asked Friday if city and state officials had requested a National Guard deployment — or had formally signed off on it — the White House didn’t answer. It also didn’t offer a possible timeline or say whether federal law enforcement would be surged in connection with a guard deployment, as happened when troops were deployed to Washington.
Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU’s National Security Project, said in a news conference Friday that she could not speak directly to the legality of sending National Guard troops to Memphis because she doesn't know whether the troops would be deployed under state or federal authority and what the legal justification would be.
“There quite simply is no factual emergency to legitimate calling out troops to perform any kind of policing function,” she said.
Using soldiers for civil law enforcement, she said, “leaves our Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights — searches, seizures, due process safeguards — in the hands of people who are not trained to uphold them, and it can chill the exercise of our First Amendment rights.”
Trump said Friday he “would have preferred going to Chicago,” where local politicians have fiercely resisted his plans, but suggested the city was too “hostile” with “professional agitators.”
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a potential 2028 presidential contender, wasted no time congratulating himself on social media, adding, “It’s disturbing that the president is hellbent on sending troops onto America’s streets. Using those who serve in uniform as political props is insulting. None of this is normal.”
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi this week accused the state's leaders of being uncooperative. However, even without National Guard troops, residents in Chicago are expecting more federal immigration enforcement.
Trump first deployed troops to Los Angeles in early June over Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s objections by putting the California National Guard under federal jurisdiction, known as Title 10, to protect federal property from protests over immigration raids. The guard later helped protect officers during immigration arrests.
Alongside 4,000 guard members, 700 active duty Marines were also sent. California sued over the intervention.
In Washington, D.C., where the president directly commands the guard, Trump has used troops for everything from armed patrols to trash cleanup without any legal issues.
This story has been corrected to show that Lee's statement about the deployment adding momentum was made on Friday, not Thursday.
Associated Press writers Adrian Sainz and Travis Loller in Nashville, Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, Will Weissert in Washington, and Katie Foody in Chicago contributed to this report.
Memphis Mayor Paul Young speaks about the deployment of the National Guard to the city during a news conference Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian via AP)
FILE - Gov. Bill Lee speaks during a news conference announcing The Boring Company's intent to build the Music City Loop, a private transportation tunnel that will connect the airport to downtown, Monday, July 28, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, file)
Members of the Louisiana National Guard patrol the grounds of the Washington Monument at the National Mall, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at LaGuardia Airport, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at LaGuardia Airport, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
A spotted lanternfly flies past President Donald Trump as he boards Air Force One, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., to travel to New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump, center, gestures next to New York Yankees president Randy Levine, front right, during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting Thursday to discuss Iran's deadly protests at the request of the United States, even as President Donald Trump left unclear what actions he would take against the Islamic state.
Tehran appeared to make conciliatory statements in an effort to defuse the situation after Trump threatened to take action to stop further killing of protesters, including the execution of anyone detained in Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.
Iran’s crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,615, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. The death toll exceeds any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The sound of gunfire faded Thursday in the capital, Tehran. The country closed its airspace to commercial flights for hours without explanation early Thursday and some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar were advised to evacuate. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait also ordered its personnel to “temporary halt” travel to the multiple military bases in the small Gulf Arab country.
Here is the latest:
Abdul Malik al-Houthi, leader of the Iran-backed Yemeni rebel group, said on Thursday that “criminal gangs” were responsible for the situation in Iran, accusing them of carrying out an “American-Israeli” scheme.
“Criminal gangs in Iran killed Iranian citizens, security forces and burned mosques,” he said without providing evidence. “What’s being committed by criminal gangs in Iran is horrific, bearing an American stamp as it includes slaughter and burning some people alive.”
He also said that the U.S. imposed economic sanctions on Iran to create a crisis leading to the current issues in the country with the end goal of controlling Iran.
Yet he said the U.S. has “failed in Iran” and that Iranians “will not yield to America.”
The president of the European Union’s executive arm says the 27-member bloc is looking to strengthen sanctions against Iran as ordinary Iranians continue their protests against Iran’s theocratic government.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday following a meeting of the EU’s commissioners in Limassol, Cyprus that current sanctions against Iran are “weakening the regime.”
Von der Leyen said that the EU is looking to sanction individual Iranians —apart from those who belong to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard — who “are responsible for the atrocities.”
She added that the people of Iran who are “bravely fighting for a change” have the EU’s “full political support.”
Canada’s foreign minister says a Canadian citizen has died in Iran “at the hands of the Iranian authorities.”
“Peaceful protests by the Iranian people — asking that their voices be heard in the face of the Iranian regime’s repression and ongoing human rights violations — has led the regime to flagrantly disregard human life,” Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand posted on social media Thursday.
“This violence must end. Canada condemns and calls for an immediate end to the Iranian regime’s violence,” she added.
Anand said consular officials are in contact with the victim’s family in Canada. She did not provide details.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies announced Thursday that a local staff member was killed and several others were wounded during the deadly protests in Iran over the weekend.
Amir Ali Latifi, an Iranian Red Crescent Society worker, was working in the country’s Gillan province on Jan. 10 when he was killed “in the line of duty,” the organization said in a statement.
“The IFRC is deeply concerned about the consequences of the ongoing unrest on the people of Iran and is closely monitoring the situation in coordination with the Iranian Red Crescent Society,” the statement continued.
U.S. President Donald Trump has hailed as “good news” reports that the death sentence has been lifted for an Iranian shopkeeper arrested in a violent crackdown on protests.
Relatives of 26-year-old Erfan Soltani had said he faced imminent execution.
Trump posed Thursday on his Truth Social site: “FoxNews: ‘Iranian protester will no longer be sentenced to death after President Trump’s warnings. Likewise others.’ This is good news. Hopefully, it will continue!”
Iranian state media denied Soltani had been condemned to death. Iranian judicial authorities said Soltani was being held in a detention facility outside of the capital. Alongside other protesters, he has been accused of “propaganda activities against the regime,” state media said.
Trump sent tensions soaring this week by pledging that “help is on its way” to Iranian protesters and urging them to continue demonstrating against authorities in the Islamic Republic.
On Wednesday Trump signaled a possible de-escalation, saying he had been told that “the killing in Iran is stopping.”
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union’s main foreign policy chief said the G7 members were “gravely concerned” by the developments surrounding the protests, and that they “strongly oppose the intensification of the Iranian authorities’ brutal repression of the Iranian people.”
The statement, published on the EU’s website Thursday, said the G7 were “deeply alarmed at the high level of reported deaths and injuries” and condemned “the deliberate use of violence” by Iranian security forces against protesters.
The G7 members “remain prepared to impose additional restrictive measures if Iran continues to crack down on protests and dissent in violation of international human rights obligations,” the statement said.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has spoken with his counterpart in Iran, who said the situation was “now stable,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Abbas Araghchi said “he hoped China will play a greater role in regional peace and stability” during the talks, according to the statement from the ministry.
“China opposes imposing its will on other countries, and opposes a return to the ‘law of the jungle’,” Wang said.
“China believes that the Iranian government and people will unite, overcome difficulties, maintain national stability, and safeguard their legitimate rights and interests,” he added. “China hopes all parties will cherish peace, exercise restraint, and resolve differences through dialogue. China is willing to play a constructive role in this regard.”
“We are against military intervention in Iran,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told journalists in Istanbul on Thursday. “Iran must address its own internal problems… They must address their problems with the region and in global terms through diplomacy so that certain structural problems that cause economic problems can be addressed.”
Ankara and Tehran enjoy warm relations despite often holding divergent interests in the region.
Fidan said the unrest in Iran was rooted in economic conditions caused by sanctions, rather than ideological opposition to the government.
Iranians have been largely absent from an annual pilgrimage to Baghdad, Iraq, to commemorate the death of Imam Musa al-Kadhim, one of the twelve Shiite imams.
Many Iranian pilgrims typically make the journey every year for the annual religious rituals.
Streets across Baghdad were crowded with pilgrims Thursday. Most had arrived on foot from central and southern provinces of Iraq, heading toward the shrine of Imam al-Kadhim in the Kadhimiya district in northern Baghdad,
Adel Zaidan, who owns a hotel near the shrine, said the number of Iranian visitors this year compared to previous years was very small. Other residents agreed.
“This visit is different from previous ones. It lacks the large numbers of Iranian pilgrims, especially in terms of providing food and accommodation,” said Haider Al-Obaidi.
Europe’s largest airline group said Thursday it would halt night flights to and from Tel Aviv and Jordan's capital Amman for five days, citing security concerns as fears grow that unrest in Iran could spiral into wider regional violence.
Lufthansa — which operates Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings — said flights would run only during daytime hours from Thursday through Monday “due to the current situation in the Middle East.” It said the change would ensure its staff — which includes unionized cabin crews and pilots -- would not be required to stay overnight in the region.
The airline group also said its planes would bypass Iranian and Iraqi airspace, key corridors for air travel between the Middle East and Asia.
Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for several hours early Thursday without explanation.
A spokesperson for Israel’s Airport Authority, which oversees Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, said the airport was operating as usual.
Iranian state media has denied claims that a young man arrested during Iran’s recent protests was condemned to death. The statement from Iran’s judicial authorities on Thursday contradicted what it said were “opposition media abroad” which claimed the young man had been quickly sentenced to death during a violent crackdown on anti-government protests in the country.
State television didn’t immediately give any details beyond his name, Erfan Soltani. Iranian judicial authorities said Soltani was being held in a detention facility outside of the capital. Alongside other protesters, he has been accused of “propaganda activities against the regime,” state media said.
New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters said Thursday that his government was “appalled by the escalation of violence and repression” in Iran.
“We condemn the brutal crackdown being carried out by Iran’s security forces, including the killing of protesters,” Peters posted on X.
“Iranians have the right to peaceful protest, freedom of expression, and access to information – and that right is currently being brutally repressed,” he said.
Peters said his government had expressed serious concerns to the Iranian Embassy in Wellington.
Women cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A demonstrator lights a cigarette with a burning poster depicting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in support of Iran's anti-government protests, in Holon, Israel, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Protesters participate in a demonstration in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Protesters participate in a demonstration in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
