{"id":1202,"date":"2026-01-10T03:12:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T19:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/?p=1202"},"modified":"2026-01-10T03:12:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T19:12:14","slug":"prepare-to-intervene-former-shah-of-iran-pleads-trump-amid-khameneis-threat-to-protesters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/?p=1202","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Prepare to intervene\u2019: Former Shah of Iran pleads Trump amid Khamenei's threat to protesters"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi on January 9 issued an urgent appeal to US President Donald Trump, calling for immediate international intervention as Iran\u2019s leadership signalled an imminent and violent crackdown on nationwide protests.\u00a0<\/p>

In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), Pahlavi warned that Iranian authorities had imposed sweeping communications blackout to conceal what he described as an impending massacre of protesters.\u00a0<\/p>

\u201cMr. President, this is an urgent and immediate call for your attention, support, and action,\u201d Pahlavi wrote. \u201cLast 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. No Internet. No landlines.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>

Pahlavi accused Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of attempting to crush the uprising under cover of the blackout. \u201cHe wants to use this blackout to murder these young heroes,\u201d he said, urging Trump to be prepared to intervene as protesters prepared to return to the streets.\u00a0<\/p>

The appeal came as Iran\u2019s leadership openly defied Trump\u2019s pledge to support peaceful demonstrators, even as the reported death toll from the unrest climbed to at least 50.\u00a0<\/p>

Mr. President, this is an urgent and immediate call for your 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. No Internet. No\u2026<\/p>

\u2014 Reza Pahlavi (@PahlaviReza) January 9, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote> <\/div>

In footage aired on Iranian state television, Khamenei dismissed Trump\u2019s warnings as hollow, accusing the US president of having hands \u201cstained with the blood of Iranians,\u201d while crowds of regime supporters chanted \u201cDeath to America!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>

State media escalated its rhetoric further, repeatedly branding protesters as \u201cterrorists\u201d \u2014 a label that has historically preceded violent security operations during earlier waves of unrest.\u00a0<\/p>

In a sharply worded post on X, Khamenei warned that Trump would face the same fate as rulers who overreached at the height of their power. \u201cThe US President who judges arrogantly about the whole world should know that tyrants & arrogant rulers of the world, such as Pharaoh, Nimrod, Mohammad Reza [Pahlavi] & other such rulers saw their downfall when they were at the peak of their hubris. He too will fall,\u201d Khamenei wrote.\u00a0<\/p>

Despite the government cutting off internet access and international telephone services, activists circulated short videos online purporting to show protesters chanting anti-regime slogans around bonfires, with debris strewn across streets in Tehran and other cities into early Friday. The blackout has made it difficult to independently verify events on the ground or determine the full scale of the demonstrations.\u00a0<\/p>

The protests began on December 28 over worsening economic conditions but have since evolved into the most serious challenge to Iran\u2019s leadership in several years. Demonstrators have openly voiced support for the former shah \u2014 once a taboo punishable by death \u2014 underscoring the depth of anger driving the movement.\u00a0<\/p>

Trump’s warning to\u00a0Khamenei<\/strong><\/p>

According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, at least 50 people have been killed and more than 2,270 detained amid clashes linked to the protests.\u00a0<\/p>

Washington has so far issued no formal response to Iran\u2019s latest warnings. However, Trump has repeatedly threatened consequences if Iranian forces kill peaceful demonstrators \u2014 statements that have gained added weight following a recent US military raid that seized Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro.\u00a0<\/p>

In an interview with talk show host Hugh Hewitt aired Thursday, Trump reiterated that Iran had been warned \u201cvery strongly\u201d against violent repression. \u201cIf they do that, they\u2019re going to have to pay hell,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>

Trump declined to say whether he would meet with Reza Pahlavi, calling such a move premature. \u201cI think that we should let everybody go out there, and we see who emerges,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>

Speaking separately on Fox News<\/em>, Trump suggested that Khamenei himself may be considering fleeing the country. \u201cHe\u2019s looking to go someplace,\u201d Trump said. \u201cIt\u2019s getting very bad.\u201d<\/p>

Who is Reza Pahlavi?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>

Reza Pahlavi was born on October 31, 1960, in Tehran and is the eldest son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iran\u2019s last shah, and Empress Farah Pahlavi (Farah Diba). He was officially named crown prince in 1967 during his father\u2019s coronation and was educated at a private school inside the royal palace reserved for members of the imperial family.\u00a0<\/p>

The Iranian monarchy was abolished in 1979 following the Islamic Revolution, forcing the royal family into exile. After his father\u2019s death in exile in 1980, Reza Pahlavi declared himself the rightful heir to the throne, styling himself as Reza Shah II.\u00a0<\/p> <\/div>