Patriot Brief
Iran’s regime blamed President Trump for nationwide protests sparked by economic collapse and political repression.
Tehran imposed communications blackouts as demonstrations intensified and security forces responded forcefully.
Exiled opposition figures urged continued protests while warning of a looming crackdown.
Iran’s leadership is responding to unrest the only way it knows how: deny responsibility, silence communication, and blame the United States.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei framed the protests engulfing Tehran and other cities as a foreign-directed plot, pointing directly at President Donald Trump. That accusation isn’t new. It’s a familiar reflex for a regime that has long relied on external enemies to explain internal failure. What’s different now is the scale and persistence of the unrest, and the economic desperation driving it.
The protests began over collapsing living conditions—runaway inflation, a devalued currency, and the aftershocks of conflict with Israel. Merchants and shopkeepers were among the first to take to the streets, a notable signal in a country where commercial classes have often tried to stay politically neutral. When those groups move, it usually means the pressure has reached a breaking point.
Khamenei’s decision to cut internet and phone service underscores the regime’s concern. Blackouts aren’t the behavior of a confident government. They’re an admission that controlling the narrative matters more than addressing the cause. Labeling protesters as “vandals” may play to loyalists, but it does little to explain why crowds are chanting “Death to the Dictator” in multiple cities.
Trump, for his part, has leaned into rhetorical support for the protesters while maintaining a posture of deterrence. Statements from U.S. officials like UN Ambassador Mike Waltz reinforce that the administration is watching closely, even as Trump warns Tehran against violent repression. That balance—support without direct intervention—appears deliberate.
Exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has sought to capitalize on the moment, urging larger demonstrations and appealing directly to Trump for backing. Whether that helps or complicates matters remains an open question. Foreign association has historically been a double-edged sword for Iranian opposition movements.
What is clear is that Iran’s leadership is confronting pressures it cannot fully control. Economic reality, not foreign rhetoric, put people in the streets. Blaming Washington may buy time, but it doesn’t fix the conditions that sparked the unrest—or the legitimacy crisis that continues to deepen.
From Western Journal:
Iran’s capital descended into chaos as anti-government protests set parts of Tehran ablaze, with the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blaming President Donald Trump for what he described as a foreign-driven uprising.
Authorities blacked out internet and phone services in much of Iran on Friday when videos spread showing buildings and vehicles burning in the streets of Tehran and other cities, multiple outlets reported.
In a televised address, Khamenei denounced the throngs of protesters as “vandals” and accused them of acting on behalf of Trump. He warned that the Islamic Republic would not retreat in the face of what he described as U.S.-inspired chaos, according to Reuters.
“The Islamic Republic came to power through the blood of hundreds of thousands of honourable people. It will not back down in the face of vandals,” Khamenei said.
President Trump, meanwhile, wrote on Truth Social that Iran’s second-largest city was “under protesters’ control,” sharing a video of the demonstrations.
“America stands with the Iranian people in their quest for basic dignity and freedom,” United States Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz echoed on X Friday, adding, “We are watching.”
The protests began in December in response to Iran’s collapsing economy, worsened by U.S. sanctions and the country’s 12-day war with Israel in June. Merchants and shopkeepers were among the first to protest as inflation surged past 40 percent in December and the currency lost about half its value against the dollar, according to Reuters.
Tensions exploded Thursday night after exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi called on Iranians to take to the streets. Pahlavi is the eldest son of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, toppled during the 1979 revolution.
The unrest continued overnight and into the morning, with protesters chanting “Death to the Dictator” and marching through the streets in huge numbers, as seen in social media footage verified by CNN.
Trump, who ordered the bombing of Iranian nuclear enrichment sites in June, warned earlier this month that if Iran “violently kills peaceful protesters,” the U.S. would “come to their rescue.”
Trump also warned Iran on Dec. 29, following a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that the U.S. could carry out further military strikes if the country attempts to reestablish its nuclear program.
“We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” Trump wrote in a Jan. 2 Truth Social post.
“The US President has said that if the Iranian govt. does such-and-such, I’ll take the side of the rioters. The rioters have put their hopes in him. If he’s so capable, he should manage his own country,” Khamenei wrote on X Friday.
The US President has said that if the Iranian govt. does such-and-such, I’ll take the side of the rioters. The rioters have put their hopes in him. If he’s so capable, he should manage his own country.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) January 9, 2026
Building on his Thursday calls for protests, Pahlavi on Friday appealed for Trump’s “attention, support, and action.”
“Last night you saw the millions of brave Iranians in the streets facing down live bullets. Today, they are facing not just bullets but a total communications blackout,” Pahlavi wrote on X.
“Ali Khamenei, fearing the end of his criminal regime at the hands of the people and with the help of your powerful promise to support the protesters, has threatened the people on the streets with a brutal crack down,” Pahlavi wrote, saying that Khamenei “wants to use this blackout to murder these young heroes.”
“You have proven and I know you are a man of peace and a man of your word,” Pahlavi wrote of Trump. “Please be prepared to intervene to help the people of Iran.”
Pahlavi urged Iranians to protest again on Friday night, saying they should “make the crowd even larger so that the regime’s repressive power becomes even weaker.”
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Photo Credit: Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran / Getty Images