Iranian Crown Prince and exiled opposition figure Reza Pahlavi warned on Friday that the Iranian regime plans to use the country's internet blackout to "kill" protesters and asked US President Donald Trump to be ready to intervene.
"Mr. President, this is an urgent and immediate call for your attention, support and action," Pahlavi wrote on Network X, as reported by CNN
"Last night you saw millions of brave Iranians in the streets facing real bullets. Today they are facing not only bullets, but a complete interruption of communication. No internet. No landlines," Pahlavi said.
Internet turned off, international telephone traffic interrupted
Iran shut down due to nationwide demonstrations Internet and international telephone communications, but short online videos shared by activists have emerged purportedly showing protesters gathered around a bonfire and chanting against the Iranian government as debris covers the streets of Tehran.
Iranian state media claimed they were "terrorist agents" SAD and Israel set fires and provoked violence. It was also stated that there were victims, but it was not specified how many.
Pahlavi: Trump proved that he is a man of peace
The eldest son of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, he was 16 years old when the 1979 Iranian Revolution overthrew the forty-year rule of his father, the last Shah of Iran. Pahlavi lives in the US.
Pahlavi is in his announcement addressed to Trump. Stated that Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei "fears the end of the criminal regime."
Calling on Trump to take action, Pahlavi said Khamenei "threatened the people in the streets with a brutal crackdown" and wanted to use the internet shutdown "to kill young heroes."
"Time is of the essence. Please help. You have proven, and I know you are a man of peace and a man of your word. Please be ready to intervene to help the people of Iran," Pahlavi told Trump.
Ayatollah Khamenei: Trump should pay attention to the situation in the USA
Iran signaled on Friday that security forces would crack down on protesters, in direct opposition to US President Donald Trump's pledge to support peaceful protesters, as the death toll rose to at least 50.
In a video broadcast by Iranian state television, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticized Trump's statements, saying that Trump's hands were "stained with the blood of Iranians", and supporters of the Ayatollah shouted "Death to America!", AP writes.
The state media later repeatedly referred to the demonstrators as "terrorists", thus laying the groundwork for the violent suppression of the demonstrations.
"The protesters are destroying their own streets to please the president of the United States, because he said he would come to their aid. Instead, he should pay attention to the situation in his country," Khamenei said.
The head of Iran's judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Edjei, specifically promised that the punishment for the protesters "will be decisive, maximum and without any legal leniency."
There was no immediate response from Washington to those allegations, although Trump repeated his promise to attack Iran if protesters were killed. That threat gained importance after the American military action in which the Venezuelan president was captured Nicolas Maduro.
