US congressman commends Iranian protesters

Republican member of the House Pat Fallon voiced support for protesters challenging Iran's government amid President Trump's warning of US intervention.

“The barbaric Mullahs who rule Iran have never had the Iranian people’s best interest at heart and have shown they’ll do anything to retain power,” the Texas House member posted on X on Friday.

“I strongly support the Persian Tiger that is rising and taking to the streets in the strongest attempt to date to free themselves,” he added.

UK Conservative MP and former security minister Tom Tugendhat said senior figures in Iran’s government may already be reaching out to foreign intelligence services and trading secrets in search of protection if the government falls.

“How many senior regime officials are reaching out to foreign intelligence officials and trading secrets for security when the regime collapses?” Tugendhat posted on X on Friday.

“The leadership will be suspicious that many are looking for safe landing but paranoia won't help many of the leaders are doing it too,” he added.

Nationwide protests and bazaar strikes in Iran entered their sixth consecutive day on Friday, with at least eight protesters killed and dozens arrested, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported.

The unrest, which began Monday with market closures in Tehran, has spread across 113 locations in 46 cities and 22 provinces.

HRANA reported ongoing protests in cities including Mashhad, Zahedan, Qazvin, Hamadan, and Tehran, marked by heightened security, violence by forces, and further detentions.

US Congressman Thomas Massie criticized President Donald Trump’s threat to strike Iran, saying any such move would require congressional authorization.

“We have problems at home and shouldn’t be wasting military resources on another country’s internal affairs,” the Republican House member from Kentucky posted on X on Friday.

“Military strikes on Iran require congressional authorization. This threat isn’t about freedom of speech in Iran; it’s about the dollar, oil, and Israel,” he added.

The US State Department shared a video of ongoing protests in Iranian cities, saying they are driven by frustration over a lack of freedom, dignity and basic necessities.

“The protesters' demands are entirely clear: Iranians are exhausted from living without freedom and dignity, and without their basic needs being met, while officials lead lavish lives and send Iran's money abroad to fund assassinations,” the State Department’s Persian-language X account posted on Friday. “The brave resistance of Iranians in the face of hardships deserves admiration.”