It's time to 'Make Iran Great Again', Senator Graham says

Exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi on Friday urged Iranians to “take over” the streets of Tehran and other major cities with simultaneous mass gatherings and road blockades, saying such a show of force is “necessary” to hasten the fall of the Islamic Republic.

“In order to overcome the regime’s repression, there is one path before us: the simultaneous and massive presence of people across the city, and at the same time, creating traffic jams on key routes and main roads,” Pahlavi posted on X on Friday.

“The solution is to go, in the form of small and cohesive groups of friends and family members, to the nearest street of your residence, find each other, and then hand in hand move toward the central streets of the city,” he added. “We will take back and rebuild Iran together.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Friday accused US President Donald Trump of "inciting violence" through what it called "interventionist and irresponsible" remarks about the country’s internal affairs.

“Such irresponsible positions, which are a continuation of the United States’ bullying and unlawful approach toward the Iranian nation, not only constitute a blatant violation of the fundamental principles and rules of the United Nations Charter but is considered tantamount to incitement to violence and terrorism against Iranian citizens,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs assesses the threatening statements by US officials against Iran as being in line with the Israeli regime’s policy of escalating tensions in the region and emphasizes that the Islamic Republic of Iran’s response to any aggression will be swift, decisive, and comprehensive."

It added that full responsibility for the consequences of such a situation — which could further plunge the entire region into crisis and instability — would rest entirely with the United States.

US Senator Tom Cotton voiced support for President Donald Trump’s position on Iran, adding the rulers in Tehran have been a menace to the United States for the last 47 years.

“I support President Trump’s strong stance against the ayatollahs, who have tormented their own people just like they’ve killed Americans for 47 years,” the Republican senator from Arkansas posted on X on Friday.

UK MP and ex-security minister Tom Tugendhat said Iran has mounted “more than 20” attempted assassinations and attacks in the United Kingdom over the past decade, adding that what happens inside Iran has a direct implication for what happens in the UK.

“A lot of the groups that call themselves Free Palestine, a lot of the outfits that are connected to antisemitism that, sadly, we've seen exploding in the last two, three years, have got connections to the Iranian state, the Iranian regime,” he said. “So for all those reasons, what happens in Iran, I'm afraid, has a direct implication on what happens in the UK,” Tugendhat told LBC News on Friday.

Tugendhat said UK agencies are heavily focused on operations by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Britain and across Europe, leaving them “busy, distracted from other things.”

Komala of the Toilers of Kurdistan, one of the five major parties in Iran's Kurdish regions, says the country's latest wave of protests marks a decisive phase, calling for broad unity among social and political forces as economic, social and political grievances increasingly converge.

In a statement, Komala of the Toilers of Kurdistan said the new wave of protests that began with strikes by merchants and shopkeepers in Tehran and spread nationwide reflects a deep, accumulated crisis within the Islamic Republic’s political and economic system, rather than a temporary reaction.

It said growing support from workers, teachers, students, women, drivers and other low-income groups shows protests have moved beyond fragmented demands to a more political and structural challenge.

Calling for independent organization and conscious solidarity, Komala urged closer unity among Kurdish parties, saying such cooperation could help shape a credible alternative rooted in freedom, equality, social justice and the right to self-determination.

The party is one of the five major Kurdish parties of Iran that were influential in the past strikes of Kurdish shopkeepers and workers. However, the statement is not expected to trigger any strikes or protests unless it is supported by other parties, experts tell Iran International.