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European Parliament President Roberta Metsola on Friday responded to criticism from Iran’s mission to the EU by saying protesters in Iran were seeking basic freedoms, including the right to express dissent online without fear of arrest or violence.
“Must be nice to be able to tweet from Europe and be able to use the Internet freely to publicly disagree with leaders, without being arrested, beaten or having the country’s telecommunications disabled,” Metsola wrote on X. “That’s the sort of thing people in Iran’s streets are asking for.”
Her comments came after Iran’s mission to the EU accused European lawmakers of what it called interference in Iran’s internal affairs.
The US Department of State’s Persian-language account on X said on Friday that Iran’s judiciary chief had again threatened protesters, warning that “no one will be shown leniency this time.”
In the post, the account said Iranian authorities were relying on threats and intimidation instead of addressing the root causes of the unrest, adding: “The world is watching.”
France is calling on Iranian authorities to show maximum restraint toward those protesting against the government, a French diplomatic source told Reuters on Friday.
"We deplore the deaths of several protesters and call on the Iranian authorities to fully investigate the circumstances surrounding these deaths," the source said.
"We reaffirm our commitment to freedom of expression and assembly and call on Iran to respect all of its obligations under its international commitments."
Exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi praised a nationwide protest turnout on Thursday night and urged more people to take part in further demonstrations on Friday.
Pahlavi had earlier called on Iranians to chant simultaneously at exactly 8:00 p.m. on both Thursday and Friday, whether in the streets or from inside their homes.
“I am proud of each and every one of you who took over the streets across Iran on Thursday night,” he said in a video message.
Addressing those who had hesitated to take part, he added: “Those of you who had doubts, join your fellow citizens on Friday night.”
What happened in Iran on Thursday night was not simply another protest. Coordinated mass demonstrations unfolded nationwide in response to a direct call from Prince Reza Pahlavi that specified not only the action but also the timing.
Calls for action from outside Iran have been issued many times over the years and largely ignored. This one was answered, simultaneously and at scale. The precision of the call and the response to it surprised supporters and skeptics alike. Thursday night did not produce regime change, but it marked something no less significant: a visible crossing of a political threshold.
