Exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi urged Iranians to resume street protests after a deadly crackdown, calling on the world to increase pressure on Tehran as unrest simmers despite mass arrests.
Exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi is urging Iranians to reclaim the streets once more, even as the dust from one of the bloodiest crackdowns since the 1979 revolution has barely settled.
In a message posted Friday on X, Pahlavi called on Iranians to resume nationwide protests over the weekend, weeks after demonstrations were violently suppressed by security forces that opposition groups say killed more than 2,600 people.
Addressing what he called his brave compatriots, the US-based son of Iran’s last Shah urged protesters to return to public squares from Saturday through Monday. “Raise your voices of anger and protest,” he wrote, adding that “the world sees your courage and will offer clearer and more practical support to your national revolution.”
His call comes after days of uneasy calm in Iran, where mass protests that erupted on December 28 over economic hardship escalated into open demands for the end of clerical rule. The unrest culminated in widespread violence late last week, followed by mass arrests, internet blackouts and warnings of executions for detained protesters.
Pahlavi has emerged as one of the most prominent voices of Iran’s fractured opposition, repeatedly urging citizens to escalate pressure on the government. But demonstrators have been met with lethal force, with authorities deploying security units and, according to Pahlavi, even foreign militia fighters to quell dissent.
Earlier, speaking at a news conference in Washington, Pahlavi claimed parts of Iran’s security apparatus had refused to participate in the crackdown. “The Iranian people are taking decisive action on the ground,” he said. “It is now time for the international community to join them fully.”
He called for tougher action against Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and its command-and-control infrastructure, advocating what he described as a “surgical strike” approach to weaken the state’s ability to repress protests.
The risk of a US military strike appeared to ease after President Donald Trump said he had been informed that killings in Iran were slowing. However, additional US military assets were still expected to move into the region.
Trump, who had earlier warned of very strong action if Iran carried out executions, later said Tehran’s leadership had called off mass hangings. “I greatly respect the fact that all scheduled hangings which were to take place yesterday — over 800 of them — have been cancelled by the leadership of Iran. Thank you!” he wrote on social media.
