Over the last two weeks, 65 people have been killed and more than 2,300 arrested in Iran, as reported by CNN. Crippling economic conditions created a nationwide wave of protests that have not stopped.
On Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, authorities in Iran cut access to telephone lines and internet in Tehran. A resident of Tehran reported to CNN the blackout “appeared to have backfired.
The Associated Press reports protests escalated due to encouragement from Iran’s Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who has lived in exile in the United States for 50 years.
Calls issued by Pahlavi have been rebroadcasted by Farsi-language satellite websites and news channels encouraged protestors to take to the streets Friday night and for more demonstrations over the weekend.
Iran expert with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Behnam Ben Taleblu, states, “The more the Islamic Republic has failed, the more it has emboldened it antithesis. The success of the crown prince and his team has been in drawing a sharp contrast between the normalcy of what was an the the promise of what could be, versus the nightmare and present predicament that is the reality for so many Iranians.”
Some of the protestor’s chants over the past two weeks have been a call for the return of the Iranian monarchy. In videos of the demonstrations, shouts of “Long live the king!” and “Reza Shah, God bless your soul!” can be heard among the desperate cries for help from the people.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed U.S. President Donald Trump for the surge in demonstrations stating protestors were “ruining their won streets… in order to please the President of the Unites States,” and Trump’s hands were ‘stained with the blood of Iranians,” Friday on Iranian state television. Khamenei believes it is because Trump said he would come to the aid of Iranians and said Trump “should pay attention to the state of his own country,” according to CBS News.
Iranian state media set the stage for the possibility of a violent crackdown by referring to demonstrators as “terrorists.” This how the government has responded to major protests over recent years, despite threats from the U.S. On Saturday, the attorney general of Iran announced protestors would be considered an “enemy of God,” which is a death-penalty charge in the Middle Eastern country.
Who Is Reza Pahlavi, the Crown Prince of Iran?
Pahlavi is the exiled son of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi who was overthrown in 1979. When the revolution unseated his father, Pahlavi was 16 years old. The people within the country have not been in support of a monarchy since the upheaval. Analysts say this recent change could mean the people have “hit a dead end.”
“Iranians aren’t opting for (Pahlavi) because he is present in the community but because they are despondent,” according to Iran expert and professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, Vali Nasr.
White House Response to Iran Leadership
On Friday, Trump stated a strike on Iran would not mean “boots on the ground but that means hitting them very, very hard where it hurts,” and “I tell the Iranian leaders you better not start shooting because we’ll start shooting too.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on social media, “the United States supports the brave people of Iran.”
By Jeanette Vietti
Sources:
AP News: Iran’s exiled prince rises as a figure in protests, decades after leaving his homeland
CBS News: Iran protests rage for another night and deaths mount as Trump renews warning of possible U.S. intervention
CNN: Dozens reported killed during Iran protests as internet blackout enters another day
Featured Image Courtesy of Nick Taylor’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
