Trump’s 'Make Iran Great Again' photo fuels anticipation over next moves

The episode has prompted comparisons—sometimes uneasy, sometimes fiercely rejected—between Venezuela’s trajectory and Iran’s own.

Strikes and protests have spread to dozens of Iranian cities in recent days, sharpening questions about economic exhaustion and public legitimacy.

Former Iranian diplomat Fereydoun Majlesi told the Shargh newspaper that Maduro’s detention reflected Washington’s current logic: maximal displays of power and deterrence. “Maduro’s arrest was not just a political act but a deterrent message to other players,” he said.

Foreign policy analyst Ali Bigdeli also told Shargh that while a direct U.S. attack on Iran would require congressional approval, the Venezuela episode showed that covert actions or security pretexts remained possible.

“Without a serious revision of foreign policy and adaptation to new global conditions, continuing the old path will not only fail but impose greater costs,” he warned.

‘Erosion of trust’

Even sources close to the establishment reflected unease, albeit more subtly.

Khabar Online, a moderate outlet close to security chief Ali Larijani, highlighted US sanctions on Venezuela while also pointing to mismanagement and corruption.

“Maduro’s fall was not the product of a single factor, but the outcome of accumulated crises long ignored,” the commentary argued, landing on a phrase widely used in reference to Iran’s own condition: “erosion of public trust.”

Political analyst Sadegh Maleki was more direct.

“Maduro, like (Syria’s) Assad, ruled without heartfelt popular backing,” he told Shargh. “Governments that create distance between themselves and the people are more vulnerable to external operations.”

‘Not comparable’

Conservative voices, however, moved quickly to dismiss any analogy. Gholamreza Sadeghian, editor-in-chief of the Revolutionary Guards-affiliated Javan daily, was blunt in his assessment. “Iran Is Not Comparable—Don’t Waste Your Time,” he headlined his Sunday editorial.

Washington’s threats, Sadeghian wrote, were not a sign of strength but part of a “repetitive and failed spectacle,” adding that “America neither has the capacity for final victory nor the ability to reshape the global order in its favor.”

Hardline newspapers denounced the US action as an “open kidnapping,” a “violation of the UN Charter,” and a “raid on Venezuela’s oil.”

Commentators argued that Washington’s aim was to gain leverage over global energy markets and consolidate geopolitical influence by controlling the country’s vast reserves.

The lesson, hardliners argued, was that Iran should never engage in talks with the United States, noting that Maduro was detained shortly after he signaled readiness to negotiate with Trump.

‘Military power not enough’

Kayhan newspaper, which is funded by the office of Iran’s Supreme Leader, claimed that Venezuelans had taken to the streets in support of Maduro and declared they would not allow their country to be occupied.

Ultraconservative lawmaker Javad Karimi-Ghodousi went further, predicting that Maduro would return to Venezuela “as a hero.” Trump, he added on X, would “be slapped by America’s revolutionary youth and fall into the dustbin of history.”

A more measured assessment came from the moderate outlet Rouydad24.

An editorial argued that the two countries’ situations were fundamentally different and rejected “fear of collapse,” while still suggesting that Maduro’s fate offered a lesson for Tehran on the need to address economic and social demands.

“Venezuela showed that even military structures cannot endure without sustainable social backing,” the site wrote.

“Anyone who had money in Venezuela has already taken it out,” Majidreza Hariri said, responding to concerns about Iranian assets worth an estimated two billion dollars.

He added that instability in Venezuela had been evident for at least five to six months, leaving ample time for Iranian funds to be withdrawn, and warned against attempts to use the crisis as a pretext to write off debts.

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He said Iran-Venezuela Bank has not functioned as an effective commercial bank in recent years as financial transactions between the two countries were not conducted through this bank.

According to Iran’s foreign ministry on Monday, economic and diplomatic relations with Venezuela remain intact in the wake of Maduro’s arrest, and political developments do not automatically alter bilateral ties.

“Relations between states are based on mutual respect and interests,” said spokesperson Esmail Baghaei earlier in the day.

He said Iranian diplomats and citizens in Venezuela are safe and that Tehran continues to monitor the situation closely.

Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said statements by some American and Israeli officials amounted to interference in Iran’s internal affairs and incitement to violence under international norms and rejected what he described as foreign efforts to present themselves as supportive of the Iranian public.

“Actions or statements by figures such as the Israeli prime minister or certain radical and hardline US officials regarding Iran’s internal affairs amount, under international norms, to nothing more than incitement to violence, terrorism, and killing.”

Protests have been reported in 222 locations nationwide, including rallies in 78 cities across 26 provinces, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday night aboard Air Force One that the United States is following developments in Iran very closely, warning: “If they start killing people like they have in the past, I think they are going to get hit very hard by the United States.”

Baghaei said Iranians remained deeply distrustful of Washington and Israel, citing past actions by the two countries and arguing that the public would not be swayed by what he called “deceptive rhetoric.”

He also said Iran would not base its security posture on remarks from Israeli officials, accusing Israel of misleading statements and signaling continued military vigilance.

“We are not going to trust or rely on the statements of officials from the Zionist regime,” he said. “The regime’s pattern of deception is clear to us.”

According to HRANA, at least 19 demonstrators and one member of security forces have been killed so far as the unrest continues.

Many shops in the bazaar in Tehran remained closed, while plainclothes security agents were reported in nearby streets, according to videos and information received by Iran International.

Videos showed crowds chanting slogans at security forces as tear gas was fired and motorcycle-mounted units were deployed along Jomhouri Street in Tehran.

Overnight protests were reported in dozens of cities, with demonstrations continuing in Tehran neighborhoods including Narmak, Naziabad, and Hafez Street, as well as in provincial cities such as Sangsar in Semnan province, Nurabad-e Mamasani in Fars province, Sari in Mazandaran province, and Malekshahi in Ilam province.

Labor, retiree, civil, and teachers’ organizations inside Iran also issued statements backing the protests, citing inflation, unemployment, and economic pressure.

Internet disruptions across parts of Iran

Internet access was reduced or effectively cut off in several parts of the country on Sunday, particularly in areas where protests were more intense.

Residents in cities including Asadabad in western Iran, Kermanshah, Dezful, Malekshahi, Malard, Marvdasht, Kuhdasht, Borazjan, Mashhad, Shiraz, and parts of Tehran reported severe disruptions, with some saying it took hours to send a single text message.

Opposition figures pay tribute to slain protestors

Iran International has verified the identities 16 protestors who have been killed during the protests.

Some sources have reported a higher number of fatalities. US-based human rights group, Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), reported the deaths of at least 19 protestors on Sunday.

Iran International's investigations to verify reports regarding the identities and final number of those killed in cities including Azna, Marvdasht, Malekshahi, Hefshjan, and Farsan are still ongoing.

Iran’s exiled prince Reza Pahlavi paid tribute to the slain protesters, saying in a post on X that he honored their memory and vowed to hold those responsible to account.

“I honor and keep alive the memory and names of our compatriots who were killed in Iran’s national uprising,” Pahlavi said in a post on X.

Addressing the families of slain protestors, Pahlavi said: “On this irreversible path, I stand shoulder to shoulder with you.”

“I assure you that those who ordered and carried out these crimes will be identified and, without doubt, punished,” he added.

Addressing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, he said: “By spilling the blood of the purest children of this land, you and your network have brought your own downfall closer. We will not back down and will continue until the complete destruction of your anti-Iranian regime.”

Komala Party Leader Abdullah Mohtadi on Sunday offered condolences to the families of slain protesters, and condemned what he described as a “major crime” by the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in Malekshahi, Ilam province.

"The great force of the popular movement will ultimately sweep away the apparatus of oppression and crime," he added in a post on X.

Josh Wolfe, co-founder of Lux Capital, a New York-based venture capital firm known for backing deep-tech companies in fields such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, aerospace, and biotechnology, asked fellow investors on X whether they were prepared to deploy capital in a “free Iran” once political conditions change.

Addressing American investors, family offices, and asset managers, Wolfe urged them to begin thinking about how to support Iranian technologists and entrepreneurs when Iran is free and... opportunity is unleashed.”

The post quickly drew attention from senior figures across the technology and investment world, reflecting growing interest in frontier markets shaped by geopolitical transformation.

Among the most prominent responses came from Jeff Huber, a veteran Silicon Valley executive who previously led Google Maps and Google Ads before co-founding Triatomic Capital, an investment firm focused on infrastructure, energy transition, and advanced technologies.

Huber replied in Persian, writing simply, “Count on me,” a gesture that was widely shared among Iranian users as a sign of solidarity and intent.

Another notable response came from Michael Granoff, founder and managing partner of Maniv Mobility, an Israeli venture capital firm specializing in transportation and energy technologies.

Granoff pointed to his firm’s experience investing in the United Arab Emirates following the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and several Arab states.

“We’d love to be the first to invest in a free Iranian startup,” Granoff wrote, explicitly linking potential investment in Iran to precedents set by rapid capital flows following political normalization elsewhere in the region.

The exchange also attracted responses from Iranian entrepreneurs in the diaspora, including business founders and professionals based in Canada, Australia, and Europe, many of whom offered to contribute expertise in healthcare, technology, and management during a future reconstruction phase.

While some users criticized the discussion as premature amid ongoing repression and protests inside Iran, the reaction from high-profile investors indicated a broader shift: the idea that Iran’s post-Islamic Republic future is no longer viewed solely through a political or security lens, but increasingly as a potential economic and technological opening.