By Parisa Hafezi

DUBAI, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Iran's efforts to quell a wave of anti-government protests have been complicated by Donald Trump's threat to intervene on their side, a warning firmly underlined by the subsequent U.S. capture of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, officials and insiders said on Monday.

A day before U.S. special forces seized Maduro and his wife on January 3 and whisked them off to New York, the U.S. president warned in a social media post that if Iran's leadership killed protesters who have taken to the streets since December 28 the U.S. "will come to their rescue". At least 17 people have died so far.

Tehran's options have been limited by Trump's threats and a long-running economic crisis that deepened after Israel, joined by the U.S., launched strikes on the Islamic Republic in June in a 12-day war that pummelled several of Iran's nuclear sites.

SOME FEAR IRAN MAY BE 'NEXT VICTIM', OFFICIAL SAYS

"These twin pressures have narrowed Tehran's room for manoeuvre, leaving leaders caught between public anger on the streets and hardening demands and threats from Washington, with few viable options and high risks on every path," one Iranian official told Reuters.

The view was echoed by two other officials and a former Iranian official who remains close to Iran's decision makers. All of them asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the situation.

A second official said that, after U.S. action in Venezuela, some of the authorities feared Iran could be "the next victim of Trump's........

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