Trump tells Iranians 'help is on its way' as protest deaths surge to 12,000

Amir Avivi, chairman of the Israel Defense and Security Forum (IDSF), said the Iranian government is facing imminent collapse, predicting major regional changes and suggesting a large-scale US-led military action could occur in the near future.

“Today I can say something we couldn’t have said a month ago: this regime is going down. There will be no Iranian regime, and this is going to change entirely, the future of Israel,” Avivi said in a news event with Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.

“And indeed, I think that we’ll see in the very near future a massive American attack, with the help of Israel and with the demonstrators. I think this regime stands no chance, and they will fall,” he added.

Exiled Iranian prince Reza Pahlavi said on Tuesday the death toll from unrest in Iran has surged in recent days and called on the international community, including the United States, to provide meaningful support to protesters facing what he described as deadly force from authorities.

“The sad news is that we have had more casualties in the last two days — four times the number of people who were dead as a result of the 9/11 terrorist attack. What we get so far is at least, plus 12,000. It might be more, but that’s the minimum number we know have been killed,” Pahlavi told Fox News with Brett Baier.

“We are talking about using military weapons, AK-47s, armored trucks, to shoot to kill unarmed protesters. Their bodies are being picked up by bulldozers, he added.

Asked if he supports any military action, the prince said this is about saving lives and not aggressive interference.

“When civilians are being murdered and massacred in a war waged against them by their own government, some additional help is needed. I’m not talking about aggression — I’m talking about helping a nation liberate itself,” Pahlavi said.

President Donald Trump joined a meeting on Iran on Tuesday evening after returning from Detroit, according to reporting from Axios journalist Barak Ravid.

"After he returned from Detroit earlier this evening, President Trump joined the Iran meeting that was chaired by Vice President Vance and attended by his top national security team. Trump was briefed on the situation in Iran, according to a source with knowledge of the matter," he posted on X.

US Senator Ted Cruz said President Donald Trump has made clear that the United States supports the Iranian people amid ongoing unrest in the country.

“President Donald Trump has made it clear that America has the back of the Iranian people," Republican Senator of Texas posted on X."I am proud to stand with the heroes in Iran who don’t want an Islamist dictator oppressing them anymore.”

The US State Department said it will not tolerate violence against protesters in Iran, responding to an inquiry from the Washington Free Beacon about the ongoing unrest.

Iran’s top Sunni cleric, Mowlavi Abdolhamid, on Tuesday condemned the violent killing of protesters in cities across the country, warning that those who gave such orders would be held accountable.

“The massacre of thousands of protesters in Tehran and other cities of our country over a few days was a horrific and unprecedented catastrophe. This bitter event has plunged the Iranian nation into grief and rage, and has deeply wounded the conscience of free people around the world,” he posted on X.

“Undoubtedly, those who ordered and carried out this crime will be held accountable in this world, and in the hereafter they will also deserve divine punishment,” Abdolhamid added.

News Nation White House correspondent Kelli Meyer posted a photo showing President Trump being handed a document as he entered the Oval Office.

“You can see the president was handed something and began reading it as soon as he got back into the Oval Office,” Meyer wrote on X.

Iranian exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi in his latest video message on Tuesday called on Iranian protesters to continue their fight against the Islamic Republic despite the brutal crackdown, vowing that “help is on the way.”

“To the military: you are the national army of Iran, not the army of the Islamic Republic, and you must protect your fellow citizens and join the people," he added.

US Senator Bernie Sanders said on Tuesday Iran is facing widespread unrest as millions of people protest against the country’s government, urging US support for what he described as legitimate demands for freedom while warning against military intervention.

“Iran is in turmoil. Millions of people are rising up against the autocratic government. Not surprisingly, the regime is responding brutally by killing thousands of protestors, according to some estimates," Independent Senator of Maine posted on X.

"The Iranian people have the right to determine their own future and the United States should support their legitimate aspirations for freedom and democracy. But we must not do so at the barrel of a gun," he said.

He called on Trump administration to refrain from any military option and suggested other support in forms of helping civil society.

"The United States must support the Iranian people. We must join the Iranian people in demanding the immediate end of government violence against protestors, an immediate end to the media and internet blackout and censorship currently in place, and internationally supervised free elections so that the people of Iran can determine their own future," Sanders said.

US Representative Claudia Tenney posted an image on X on Tuesday showing a photo of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei being burned to light a cigar, joining a form of protest imagery that has circulated online in connection with Iran.

“Smoke ’em if you got ’em,” the Republican House member from New York said.