âť“WHAT HAPPENED: Iran’s leadership is reportedly concerned that U.S. strikes could embolden protesters and break their regime’s hold on the country following a bloody crackdown on anti-regime demonstrations.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Iranian officials, U.S. President Donald J. Trump, and opposition figures like Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi.
đź“ŤWHEN & WHERE: Over recent days in Iran, amid ongoing tensions with the United States.
đź’¬KEY QUOTE: “If America attacks, I will go back to the streets to take revenge for my son and the children this regime killed,” said one Tehran resident.
🎯IMPACT: Rising public anger and potential for renewed protests could destabilize the Iranian regime, particularly under external pressure.
Iranian officials have privately warned Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei that public anger following the regime’s violent crackdown on protests has reached a dangerous tipping point, according to people familiar with the discussions. The officials cautioned that fear is no longer restraining many Iranians and that U.S. military strikes eroding the regime’s hard power could reignite mass demonstrations.
One former official said, “The wall of fear has collapsed. There is no fear left,” adding that external pressure could embolden citizens to return to the streets. The warnings come amid sharply rising tensions between Tehran and Washington, including the deployment of additional U.S. military forces to the region, which has increased speculation about possible American intervention.
Prominent opposition figures have also issued stark warnings. Former prime minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi said, “The river of warm blood that was spilled on the cold month of January will not stop boiling until it changes the course of history.” Former parliament speaker Mehdi Karroubi blamed decades of failed domestic and foreign policies under Khamenei, 86, for the current crisis, arguing that the Islamist system itself is now at risk of collapse.
Accounts from ordinary Iranians reflect similar anger. A Tehran resident whose son was killed during the protests said, “If America attacks, I will go back to the streets to take revenge for my son and the children this regime killed.” Human rights groups estimate that thousands were killed or injured during the unrest, with security forces accused of using live ammunition and mass arrests to crush demonstrations.
Grand Ayatollah Khamenei has publicly dismissed the protests as “sedition” engineered by the United States and “Zionists.” In a recent speech, he compared Iranian protesters to Islamic State militants, accusing them of committing atrocities similar to those carried out by the Sunni extremist group.
The United States recently imposed new sanctions on Iranian officials accused of orchestrating the violent suppression of protests. President Donald J. Trump has warned that Iran would be “wiped off the face of the earth” if he were assassinated, while also saying Tehran wants a deal. The European Union (EU) has also formally designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, a move taken as U.S. carrier strike groups arrive in the Middle East for possible intervention.
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