Tehran snapped back into protest mode following two nights of relative quiet, shortly after Donald Trump warned the United States was “locked and loaded” to intervene if Iran kills peaceful demonstrators.
In a message published on his Truth Social account, Trump warned that if Iran’s rulers kill peaceful protesters, the United States would act to save the Iranian people.
"If Iran shots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go."
Iran’s leaders rejected Trump’s warning, accusing Washington of violating the UN Charter and “inciting violence and terrorism,” according to a Foreign Ministry statement.
Iran also warned in a letter to the UN that Tehran would “exercise its rights decisively” if attacked and hold the US fully responsible for any intervention.
Officials including Parliament Speaker Mobammad Bagher Ghalibaf and top security official Ali Larijani also threatened that US forces and bases in the region could become “legitimate targets” if Trump’s warning turned into military action.
Capital unrest
After a brief lull on Wednesday and Thursday, protests in the capital resumed in multiple districts, with crowds chanting against the ruling establishment as security forces deployed in large numbers and used tear gas and batons to disperse gatherings.
Protests were also held in dozens of other cities including the holy cities of Mashhad and Qom as well as Shiraz, Hamadan, and Zahedan, a city in Iran’s restive southeast which was n epicenter of protests in 2022.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) says at least eight protesters have been killed nationwide since the latest wave of unrest began on Dec. 28.
Prince’s call
Exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi urged Iranians to “take control of the streets” in Tehran and other major cities through a simultaneous mass presence and road blockades, telling supporters to move in small, cohesive groups from neighborhood streets toward central arteries.
The prince said a “million-strong” wave would overwhelm security forces and could prompt some to retreat or even join the people, describing such a takeover of the capital’s streets as an essential step toward bringing down the Islamic Republic.
Prominent activists
Several prominent Iranian dissidents including renowned filmmaker Jafar Panahi and jailed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi issued a joint statement calling for a peaceful transition away from the Islamic Republic, saying that Iran is at a critical juncture amid mounting economic and political pressures.
“We stand with the people to reclaim the right to a dignified life, freedom, justice, human dignity, and sovereignty over our own destiny,” the statement said, published on Mohammadi's official account on X.
The signatories, including figures such as dissident filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, political prisoners Mostafa Tajzadeh and Rasoul Qadiyani, say a renewed wave of civil resistance “taking over the streets” reflects a national will to remove what they call the illegitimate regime and build a democratic order based on popular sovereignty, justice and normal relations with the world.
