Prince Reza Pahlavi says he is ready to ‘lead transition’ in Iran

The US State Department’s Persian-language account on X on Tuesday condemned what it described as another attack by agents of the Islamic Republic on a hospital in Iran, saying a facility in Tehran had been targeted after an earlier strike on a hospital in Ilam.​

“First a hospital in Ilam and now another one in Tehran. This pattern of targeting hospitals—places built for treating and sheltering patients—demonstrates the savagery and disregard of the Islamic Republic regime for the basic principles of human dignity,” the post said.​

“Medical facilities should not be targeted. The United States condemns these attacks and calls on the Islamic Republic regime to stop oppressing Iranians,” the post added, sharing footage of Sina Hospital in Tehran.

According to information received by Iran International, Iranian-backed Iraqi militias began recruiting fighters four days ago to help the Islamic Republic’s forces suppress protests in Iran.

So far, around 800 Iraqi Shiite militiamen have been deployed, almost all of them members of Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat al-Nujaba, Sayyid al-Shuhada and the Badr Organization.

The information indicates that Iraqi government officials are aware of the mobilization of forces to assist Tehran. The transfer of these fighters is said to be taking place through the Shalamcheh, Chazabeh and Khosravi border crossings, under the cover of “pilgrimage trips to the holy shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad.”

In practice, the forces reportedly gather at a base linked to Khamenei base in Ahvaz before being dispatched to various regions to take part in the violent crackdown on demonstrations.

In a video message addressed to Iranian people, Pahlavi said he had closely followed demonstrations over the past week, singling out protests in Tehran’s bazaars as a sign of growing resistance despite what he described as the Islamic Republic's violent crackdown.

He said repeated large-scale gatherings had forced security forces to retreat in some cases and led to what he described as increased defections.

Calling discipline and mass participation “critical,” Pahlavi urged Iranians to chant simultaneously at exactly 8:00 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, January 8 and 9, whether in the streets or from inside their homes.

Separately, seven Iranian Kurdish opposition parties issued a joint statement urging a general strike on Thursday in support of nationwide protests and in condemnation of what they described as the Islamic Republic's actions in the Kurdish-majority provinces of Kermanshah and Ilam as well as Lorestan.

The statement denounced the crackdown on demonstrations and the detention of protesters as a long-standing policy of the Islamic Republic and called on political parties and civil organizations across the country to take a “united and collective stance” by joining the strike.

The call was signed by the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran, Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), Komala, Kurdistan Organization of the Communist Party of Iran, Revolutionary Komala of Toilers of Iranian Kurdistan, and the Kurdistan Organization of Khabat.

Thursday now appears set to become a focal point for coordinated protest and labor action across Iran.

The Republican-led US House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday said anti-regime protesters in Iran are “rising up and claiming entire cities” and that “the Iranian regime’s grip is unraveling.”

“Anti-regime protestors are rising up and claiming entire cities. Iranians have had enough of the tyrannical Ayatollah and his murderous mullahs. The Iranian regime’s grip is unraveling,” the Committee posted on X.

The post included a video showing large crowds of people in Iran taking to the streets.

The US State Department’s Persian-language account on X highlighted on Tuesday that, ten days after the start of the protests, Iranians across the country are still taking part in rallies despite an intensifying crackdown, saying at least 29 protesters have been killed and more than 1,200 arrested.

“Despite threats of violence and harsh punishments, Iranians continue to demand justice and freedom. Their courage in the face of such dangers is extraordinary, and their unwavering resolve keeps hope for justice alive,” the post said.