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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.
Exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi on Tuesday issued his first public call for protests since the latest nationwide uprising began, urging coordinated chanting on Thursday evening, hours after Kurdish opposition parties separately called for a general strike that day.
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.
Protesters in Iran have appealed directly to Donald Trump for protection according to new videos sent to Iran International on Tuesday after the US president twice warned Tehran not to kill demonstrators or face US intervention.
In one clip, a woman holds a sign reading, "Trump, a symbol of peace. Don't let them kill us," while another shows the same message spray painted in red on a concrete wall.
The woman holds the sign in English while she says in Farsi, "Help, we need HELP."
A viewer sent in a video from Yazdanshahr in Esfahan Province showing protesters standing and resisting in the street as government security forces opened fire.
Addressing Donald Trump, the protester says: "Do something, Trump! If not now, then when? Step forward."
US Senator Lindsey Graham on Monday posted a picture of himself alongside Trump, who was holding a signed "Make Iran Great Again" cap. The President had invoked the slogan on June 22, the day he launched surprise attacks on Iranian nuclear sites.
Another video shows a young man jumping up to paste a sticker reading "Trump Street" in Farsi over a road sign on a wall.
Trump earlier warned Iran that the United States will "hit (Iran) very hard" if security forces kill protesters.
The US president also posed with a "Make Iran Great Again" hat in a picture shared by Republican senator Lindsey Graham.
The MIGA slogan was earlier used by Trump in a post on his Truth Social in June.
"It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!" the president wrote at the time.
Also in late December, Israeli minister Gila Gamliel posted a selfie wearing a MIGA cap, tagging exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi and captioning it "Soon."
Elon inspires protesters
A Persian phrase used by Elon Musk in reply to a post by Iran’s Supreme Leader on X also made its way into the ongoing protests in Iran.
Protesters in Chenar village in Asadabad, Hamadan, chanted the phrase — which roughly translates as “what a futile delusion” or “in your dreams”.
Musk used the phrase in response to a post by Khamenei that said, “We will not give in to the enemy.”
