The son of the former Iranian Shah (king) Reza Pahlavi, an opponent of the theocratic government in Tehran who lives in the United States, today called on US President Donald Trump to be ready to intervene to help the Iranian people.
After many Iranians responded to Pahlavi's call to protest last night, he wrote on X today that "time is of the essence" because Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei wants to use the disruption of internet and telephone traffic "to kill young heroes."
"Mr. President, this is an urgent and immediate call for your attention, support and action. Last night you saw millions of brave Iranians on the streets, facing real bullets. Today they are facing not only bullets, but also a complete breakdown in communication. There is no internet. The phones are not working," the 65-year-old Pahlavi said.
Pahlavi, whose father, the autocratic pro-American Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, fled Iran in 1979 on the eve of the Islamic Revolution, added that Khamenei "threatened people in the streets with a brutal crackdown, fearing that the people would end his criminal regime, aided by Trump's strong promise to support the protesters."
DON'T MISS IT
"I called on the people to the streets to fight for their freedom and to overwhelm the security forces with their numbers. Last night they did. Your threat to this criminal regime has also kept the regime's thugs at bay. But time is of the essence. The people will be back on the streets tonight. Please help. You have proven and I know that you are a man of peace and a man of your word. Please be ready to intervene to help the people of Iran," Pahlavi said.
Thousands of Iranians took to the streets last night, chanting "Death to the dictator," referring to Khamenei, and "Death to the Islamic Republic." Cheers for the late Shah were also heard at the demonstrations, but it is unclear whether the chants also mean support for Prince Reza Pahlavi, or are simply an expression of a desire to return to the times before the Islamic Revolution.
The latest protests in Iran erupted on December 28, when shopkeepers took to the streets of Tehran to express anger over another sharp drop in the value of the Iranian currency, the rial, against the US dollar. Students soon joined the protests, which began to spread to other cities and rural areas.
The protests, which have turned anti-government, have spread to all Iranian provinces this week and gained intensity, and the authorities responded last night by disabling internet access and cutting telephone lines.
According to the US-based organization Activists for Human Rights in Iran, at least 62 people have been killed and more than 2.300 have been arrested in violence linked to the latest wave of protests in Iran.
Trump warned Iran on Friday that the US would "come to the aid" of protesters if the government killed them while they were peacefully protesting, to which Tehran responded harshly.
The latest protests are the most widespread in Iran since 2022, when millions demonstrated across the country over the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who was arrested by morality police for not wearing a hijab in accordance with regulations.
Bonus video:
