Peloni: So, will Trump act to support the protestors, and what form might that support take? It is highly unlikely that he will fulfill Sen. Graham’s claim that Khamenei will be killed, but he could strike the IRGC facilities and/or those of the Basij, the internal security forces which enforces the oppressive will of the Mullahs on the Iranian people. Such strategic moves could certainly provide the protestors with a valuable support.
Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has warned the Iranian Islamic regime that President Donald Trump and the world are “closely watching” as events unfold in Iran, with the implied threat that if there are too many deaths of protesters, Trump could intervene. Senator Lindsey Graham says that in such a case, Trump will definitely “kill Khamenei.” Reza Pahlavi has said that any attempt by the regime to cut off internet access — it has already been done in some places — will only cause more protesters to turn out on the streets. And on January 7, Reza Pahlavi again called on Iranians to come out in “coordinated protests across the country.”
More on the latest developments in Iran can be found here: “Internet, phone services shut down across Iran as protesters attack state broadcaster offices,” by Alex Winston, James Genn, and Goldie Katz, Jerusalem Post, January 8, 2026:
Tehran and several other parts of Iran experienced a digital blackout on Thursday as internet connectivity dropped across multiple service providers, internet monitoring group NetBlocks said, during nationwide protests against economic hardships.
The Associated Press reported that attempts to call Iranian landlines and mobile phones from Dubai failed to connect, indicating that the regime may have suspended telephone service as well.
Footage seen by The Jerusalem Post and verified by BBC’s Farsi channel appears to show that protesters set fire to an Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) office in Isfahan during the protests….
Iran’s Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi thanked Trump, who he called “the leader of the free world,” for “reiterating his promise to hold the regime to account.”
“It is time for others, including European leaders, to follow his lead, break their silence, and act more decisively in support of the people of Iran,” Pahlavi affirmed.
“I call on them to use all technical, financial, and diplomatic resources available to restore communication to the Iranian people so that their voice and their will can be heard and seen. Do not let the voices of my courageous compatriots be silenced,” referring to the nationwide suppression of internet access by the regime in an attempt to clamp down on protest activity and the spreading of anti-government footage.
Pahlavi’s praise for Trump was referring to a statement made earlier on Thursday, issuing a warning to the Islamic regime. In this statement, Pahlavi warned the regime that “the world and Trump are closely watching you.”
“Suppression of the people will not go unanswered,” Pahlavi added….
In Iran, a day after Reza Pahlavi’s call, protesters appear to have responded as he wished, by gathering in “large, disciplined numbers” rather than, as in the first few days, simply showing up in disorganized groups to yell slogans whose sounds sometimes cancel one another out. The regime has started to cut internet service, as it has routinely done during past nationwide protests, but Elon Musk has made Starlink available to Iranians, which is one way to get around those reductions in service.
In a few days, we will know if that “coordination” among protesters that Pahlavi called for did in fact continue after January 7, and whether the regime has been sufficiently scared by Trump’s promised response to “kill Khamenei” if there are too many deaths of protesters, to have stopped using live fire. It has already shown a certain reluctance to do so; only 36 protesters have been reported killed after eight days of nationwide unrest. Compare that figure to the 551 people killed during the Mahsa Amini protests. Should the regime use the heavy-handed repression that worked in 2009, 2020, and 2020 to crush its opponents on the streets, or should it take a softer approach, to avoid triggering an American response that could bring down the regime? Right now it appears that the threatened theocrats in Tehran do not know where to put their feet and hands.
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