Iran’s exiled prince Reza Pahlavi pays tribute to slain protesters

Labor organizations, retirees, and civil groups said in a joint statement that Iranian society is at one of the most decisive moments in its contemporary history, expressing solidarity with ongoing nationwide protests.

The groups said demonstrations unfolding in the streets, along with strikes and protests across the country, are a continuation of the 2022 uprising sparked by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini following her arrest over an alleged hijab law violation.

“The current uprising has exposed institutionalized discrimination, systematic humiliation, overt repression, and structural poverty,” the statement said, adding that society is no longer willing to live under what it described as an unjust imposed order.

The statement was signed by the Retirees’ Union, the Kermanshah Electricity and Metal Association, Stop Executions, Justice Seekers, the Coordination Council for Protests of Contract Oil Workers, the Coordination Council for Protests of Non-Formal Oil Workers (Arkan-e Sales), the Coordination Council of Nurses’ Protests, and Neday-e Zanan-e Iran (Voice of Women of Iran).

A teachers’ trade association in the city of Islam Abad-e Gharb in western Iran issued a statement supporting nationwide protests, citing rising inflation, unemployment, and mounting economic pressure on households.

“In a society where poverty, unemployment, high prices and inflation have spread across people’s lives, and where governance, through misguided policies, has accelerated the rapid cycle of inflation, the heavy burden now weighs on various segments of society,” the association said.

It said rising living costs have reached levels that are “unbearable for many,” warning that the situation threatens family stability and has led to social consequences including unemployment, addiction, divorce, and suicide among young people.

“We believe the voice of the people is an echo of the real needs of society that must be heard and given a worthy response, not answered with violence, suppression, killing, and imprisonment,” the statement said.

The association said it supports what it described as the rightful protests of teachers, retirees, and other groups across the country and said its members would stand alongside them.

Unusual aircraft trails were seen in the sky over Pardis in Tehran province, on Sunday. Multiple smoke trails were also observed simultaneously over parts of the country including in Karaj, and Gilan, according to videos and images sent to Iran International.

Rallies were held across Europe in support of nationwide protests in Iran, with demonstrators gathering in Germany in the cities of Berlin and Hamburg, as well as in France in Paris and in Sweden in Malmo and Stockholm.

Demonstrators also gathered in London on Sunday in support of nationwide protests in Iran, chanting slogans including “This is the final battle, Pahlavi will return,” according to videos sent to Iran International.

Former Iranian lawmaker Ali Motahari said on Sunday that while public protests are justified, most Iranians would not align with the United States or Israel and would reject what he described as attempts to exploit unrest.

Speaking in an interview published by Ham-Mihan Online, Motahari said US President Donald Trump was seeking to create psychological pressure inside Iran rather than preparing concrete action.

“He wants to create chaos in Iran so that people support him and act against the system,” Motahari said. “But many people, because of their social and political maturity, do the opposite when figures like Trump or Netanyahu claim to support them.”