By Marziyeh Amirizadeh
Screengrab via TruthSocial
On September 1, President Trump posted a message asking a question that deserves a direct answer:
“When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?”
Mr. President, the answer is: the Iranian people have been fighting for 47 years. They never stopped.
Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the people of Iran have repeatedly risen against a regime that seized their country, destroyed their freedoms, persecuted religious minorities, imprisoned political opponents, and used misogyny, terror, torture and executions to maintain power.
What has changed is not the courage of the Iranian people. What has changed is whether the world chooses to hear them.
Again and again, Iranians have filled the streets. Again and again, they have paid an enormous price. And again and again, Western governments have looked away, often choosing negotiations, appeasement, or political convenience over standing with the people of Iran.
The Iranian people have been fighting alone for decades.
Here are only some of the chapters of that long struggle.
1981–1982: The Reign of Terror
During the early years of the Islamic Republic, the new regime launched a brutal campaign against political opponents and religious and ethnic minorities.
Thousands upon thousands were arrested, imprisoned, tortured, and executed as the clerical regime consolidated its power. Christians, Baha’is, political opponents, Kurds, Baluchis, and others experienced persecution and repression.
The message from the new regime was clear: anyone who challenged its ideology or authority could become a target.
1988: The Prison Massacres
In 1988, one of the darkest crimes in the history of the Islamic Republic took place.
Following an order from Ayatollah Khomeini, thousands of prisoners were executed over several months.Victims were buried in secret mass graves. Families were denied information about their loved ones.
The world moved on.
1999: The Student Uprising
In July 1999, Iranian students rose against the regime following the closure of the reformist newspaper Salam. I witnessed those protests myself. I saw students being attacked by regime forces. I saw Basij members chasing protesters and, beating them, throwing people from buildings, shooting at them in the streets. I remember the terror of watching what was happening from the rooftop of my home. The crackdown became one of the defining moments of my generation.
I will never forget those days. And I will never forget how quickly the world forgot them.
2009: The Green Movement
In June 2009, millions of Iranians took to the streets after the disputed presidential election. I witnessed this too, from inside Evin Prison. The demonstrations became known as the Green Movement. People marched peacefully and demanded that their voices be heard. The regime responded with violence, mass arrests, torture, and killings.
At the time, I was imprisoned because of my faith in Jesus. From inside prison, I witnessed the consequences of the regime’s crackdown. The women’s ward swelled with hundreds of new prisoners, many displaying signs of the brutality they suffered on the streets where they were arrested.
I also watched the international community fail to stand decisively with the Iranian people. President Obama silence was a devastating betrayal.
2011: Khuzestan and Ahvaz
In April 2011, protests erupted in Khuzestan, as part of the broader wave of uprisings sweeping the Middle East. Iranian forces again responded with violence. Reports of deaths, injuries, and mass arrests followed.
Once again, Iranian protesters paid the price.
2017–2018: The Nationwide Protests
Beginning in December 2017, protests on political reform quickly spread across more than 100 cities, challenging the entire system. People shouted against corruption, economic misery, and the Islamic Republic itself. The regime once again responded with force. The world, once again, was silent.
2018: Water Protests
In 2018, Iranians protested against severe water shortages, environmental destruction, and government mismanagement. The regime’s forces again brutally confronted protesters. Even protests over something as basic as access to water became a deadly confrontation with the regime.
2019: Bloody November
After the government suddenly increased fuel prices, protests erupted throughout the country. The demonstrations about the pice of gas quickly became an uprising against the Islamic Republic. The regime responded with extraordinary brutality. Security forces used live ammunition against protesters.
The exact death toll remains unclear but the message could not have been clearer: The regime was willing to kill its own people to remain in power.
2022–2023: Woman, Life, Freedom
Then came the murder of Mahsa Amini.
Her death in the custody of Iran’s “morality police” ignited one of the largest uprisings in the history of the Islamic Republic. Women removed their compulsory headscarves. Young people confronted security forces. Men and women stood together.
The world heard the cry: Woman. Life. Freedom.
The regime answered with bullets, executions, torture, imprisonment, and intimidation.
Hundreds were killed, thousands injured, and tens of thousands arrested. Iranian women and men demonstrated extraordinary courage. Once again, they were left largely to fight alone.
2025–2026: Another Generation Rises (Lion and Sun revolution)
This year’s protests demonstrated once again that the Iranian people have not surrendered.
Following the bloodshed killing a hundred thousand of peaceful protesters and repression surrounding the January 2026 protests, many Iranians inside and outside Iran looked to President Trump with hope that this time America might finally stand decisively with them. His promise that “Help is on the way” inspired the protestors but left them to be slaughtered alone.
When the United States and Israel weakened key components of the Islamic Republic’s military and security apparatus, many Iranians expressed gratitude and renewed hope. But tens of thousands had already been massacred. The massacre continues. How many times must the Iranian people be expected to walk into the streets unprotected just to be massacred with no help on the way.
They’ve been to this rodeo before. They know exactly what happens when they come into the streets without the means to defend themselves.
They remember 1979.
They remember 1988.
They remember 1999.
They remember 2009.
They remember 2019.
They remember 2022.
They remember January 2026.
They remember those who never came home.
So when President Trump asks, “When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?”, please understand: They already have.
The question is not whether Iranians are willing to fight.
The question is whether the free world is willing to stand with them when they do.
What Are Iranians Really Waiting For?
With hundreds of thousands slaughtered on the Islamic Republic’s evil alter, Iranians are waiting to know that America will not abandon them again.
They are waiting for the United States and its allies to listen to the Iranian people rather than relying on illegitimate voices and organizations that claim to represent them but do not.
They are waiting for Western leaders to understand that the Iranian people, not the Islamic Republic’s lobbyists, apologists, or carefully manufactured “opposition” figures, must determine the future of Iran.
They are waiting for the West to recognize the opposition that millions of Iranians themselves support, including Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, and to engage directly with those who have the support of the Iranian people.
And above all, they are waiting for a clear signal that America will not throw them under the bus once they rise. Again.
Mr. President, Give Them a Reason to Trust America
The Islamic Republic has repeatedly demonstrated that it will slaughter its own people to survive. America has the military power, intelligence, diplomatic influence, and international alliances to make it much more difficult for the regime to massacre peaceful protesters with impunity.
The Iranian people do not have those protections.
You have a security detail protecting you because your enemies – including the Islamic Republic – have repeatedly threatened your life and attempted to harm you.
Continuing to go into the streets in the face of these threats shows extraordinary courage. But even courage has limits when facing unrelenting brutality.
Do Not Ask Them to Fight Alone
When one asks when the Iranian people to rise again, help create the conditions in which they can survive once they do. Prevent the regime from shutting down the internet and hiding massacres from the world. Neutralize the forces deployed specifically to murder peaceful protesters. Continue putting economic pressure on the regime and dismantling its ability to finance repression and terrorism.
And most importantly, listen directly to the Iranian people. Support the representatives whom the Iranian people themselves recognize. Do not allow the Islamic Republic’s lobbyists or regime-friendly intermediaries to tell you what Iranians want.
Listen to Iran’s streets. Listen to the mothers who lost their children. Listen to the fathers who buried their sons. Listen to the women who removed their hijabs knowing they could be arrested. Listen to the prisoners who survived torture. Listen to the families still searching for the graves of the regime’s victims. It’s not hard to do. Iranians have been speaking for 47 years.
The Iranian People Are Not Waiting for a Revolution. They Are Waiting for Victory.
The Islamic Republic wants the world to believe that Iranians are passive, divided, or unwilling to fight. That is a lie. The Iranian people have demonstrated their desire for freedom again and again.
What they have learned through decades of bloodshed is that courage alone is not enough. They need the free world to stand with them. They need to know that when they rise, America will not negotiate their future away, choosing appeasement over freedom.
They need to know that their sacrifice will not be forgotten.
The Iranian people are ready. They have been ready for decades. They are not asking America to fight their battle for them. They are asking America not to prevent them from winning it.
They are asking for freedom to determine their own future. They are asking for the opportunity to reclaim the country that was stolen from them in 1979. And they are asking America to stand on the right side of history.
So when the President asks, “When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?”
My answer is simple: They never stopped fighting.
And my question to you Mr. President, is are you ready to make sure they do not have to fight and win alone.
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Marziyeh (Marzi) Amirizadeh is an Iranian American author, public speaker, human rights advocate, and President of Newpersia.org. She has written two books “Captive in Iran,” and “A Love Journey with God” which are available on www.marzisjourney.com. She is an Iranian American who immigrated to the US after being sentenced to death by hanging in Iran for the crime of converting to Christianity. She endured months of mental and physical hardships and intense interrogation in Evin prison- one of the most brutal prisons in the world.
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