Iran may not be Venezuela, but the Islamic Republic may at its most vulnerable point in its near 50-year existence as pressure builds from the streets, foreign intelligence services and inside the clerical establishment, analysts told Iran International.
Exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi on Tuesday issued his first public call for protests since the latest nationwide uprising began, urging coordinated chanting on Thursday evening, hours after Kurdish opposition parties separately called for a general strike that day.
Protesters in Iran have appealed directly to Donald Trump for protection according to new videos sent to Iran International on Tuesday after the US president twice warned Tehran not to kill demonstrators or face US intervention.
A new photo of US President Donald Trump posing with a “Make Iran Great Again” hat is ramping up suspense over US intentions as protests there which Trump vowed to protect are being met with deadly force.
Money held by Iran in Venezuela has already been withdrawn, the head of the Iran-China Joint Chamber of Commerce said on Monday, as questions grow over Iran’s investments following the arrest and transfer of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by the United States.
Protests continued across Tehran and other parts of the country on Sunday, with security forces deployed in large numbers around the capital’s main bazaar and major shopping centers as demonstrations entered their eighth day.
Tehran snapped back into protest mode following two nights of relative quiet, shortly after Donald Trump warned the United States was “locked and loaded” to intervene if Iran kills peaceful demonstrators.
No one can say with certainty whether the current protests will spiral into a revolution. But analysts tell Eye for Iran it is becoming harder to ignore signs that Iran’s theocracy may be entering a period of repeated crises that challenge its ability to function as a state.
Iran’s official defense export agency is offering to sell ballistic missiles, drones and other advanced weapons systems to foreign governments in exchange for cryptocurrency and barter, Financial Times reported on Thursday.
The fifth day of protests in Iran became the deadliest so far, with at least seven protesters killed by security forces, as rallies spread to new cities including the clerical stronghold of Qom, where protesters called for the downfall of the theocracy.
Iran erected banners across Tehran on Thursday threatening further attacks against Israel and a US base in Qatar, with state media publishing images of the banners showing maps and locations of strikes carried out during a 12‑day war in June.
Nationwide protests were held in Iran for the fourth day in a row on Wednesday, with fresh rallies reported in multiple cities, a harsh response from security forces and growing calls for a regime change by both protesters and politicians across the world.
A landmark criminal lawsuit filed in Argentina by victims of the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom movement signals a new push to hold Islamic Republic officials accountable beyond Iran’s borders.
Demonstrations across Iran, initially sparked by economic hardship and the sharp fall of the national currency, continued for a third day on Tuesday, drawing in university students as authorities deployed force and made multiple arrests.
A spokesman for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and top state officials on Tuesday warned Israel and the United States against launching any new attack on Iran, vowing a harsher and unpredictable response.
Iran’s foreign minister appealed directly to Donald Trump in a Guardian op-ed on Tuesday, urging him to reopen negotiations with Tehran, reconsider Washington’s alignment with Israel and acknowledge what he described as Iran’s invincibility.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday issued his first official response to the latest protests over worsening economic conditions, saying he has instructed his interior minister to hold talks with demonstrators.
A senior aide to Iran’s supreme leader warned on Monday that any new aggression would draw a harsher response, following comments by US President Donald Trump about possible further attacks on Iran.
Strikes and protests in Iran spread nationwide on Monday, turning violent in several cities as nighttime crowds chanted against the ruling state and bazaar merchants vowed to continue their shutdowns and demonstrations into Tuesday.
US President Donald Trump said on Monday he would support possible Israeli strikes on Iran if the Islamic Republic develops its ballistic missile or nuclear programs, warning Tehran against rebuilding military capabilities destroyed in a brief June war.
Protests broke out among shopkeepers in central Tehran on Sunday after a sharp slide in the rial, with videos sent to Iran International showing crowds chanting antigovernment slogans.
Iran’s economy slipped back into contraction in the first half of the current year as inflation accelerated and the rial sank to record lows, compounding the pressure on President Masoud Pezeshkian as his government seeks approval for a tight budget starting on March 21.