Is it just a coincidence that a massive protest movement has erupted in Tehran at the same time that the U.S. and Israel are warning that new military action against Iran may be needed soon? Without a doubt, the Islamic radicals that are ruling Iran are one of the most oppressive regimes on the entire planet, and so it is perfectly understandable that people that live under that regime would want to go out into the streets and protest. But what we have been witnessing in Tehran this week doesn’t feel spontaneous to me. Could it be possible that starting a revolution in the capital is part of the overall plan for the next stage of the war with Iran?
Following his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, President Trump issued quite an ominous threat to the Iranians…
President Donald Trump issued new warnings against Iran and Hamas after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida on Monday to try to advance the ceasefire deal that Trump brokered in Gaza.
Trump threatened Iran with unspecified consequences, saying Iran “may be behaving badly” and suggesting it was trying to rebuild nuclear sites after the U.S. struck three of them this year.
“If it’s confirmed, look, there will be consequences,” he said. “Consequences will be very powerful, maybe more powerful than last time.”
The day before Trump’s threat, protests against the Iranian regime suddenly erupted in central Tehran…
Protests began on Sunday after shopkeepers in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar staged a strike when the rial hit a record low, plummeting to 1.42 million to the U.S. dollar.
Demonstrations spread to the cities of Karaj, Hamedan, Qeshm, Malard, Isfahan, Kermanshah, Shiraz and Yazd, where police used tear gas to disperse the protesters, BBC Persian reported. One video showed a protester curled up on the ground in Tehran, blocking a gang of black-clad police officers on motorcycles.
University students chanted slogans including “death to the dictator,” referring to Khamenei. Other slogans backed Reza Pahlavi, the son of the late Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
If the nuts currently running Iran were removed, it is quite likely that Reza Pahlavi would serve as interim leader until new elections could be held.
On Tuesday, he posted a very long message on X which called on the entire population of Iran to go into the streets and join the protests…
My courageous compatriots,
Your presence in the streets across Iran has kindled the flame of a national revolution. The continuation and expansion of your presence, and taking control of the streets, is today our foremost, vital priority.
I call upon the people of Iran to join in with the nationwide strikes and protests: government employees, workers in the energy and transportation sectors, truck drivers, nurses, teachers and academics, artisans and entrepreneurs, retirees and those who have lost their savings—everyone, unite and join this national movement.
Across Iran: Tehran, Karaj, Qazvin, Rasht, Sari, Gorgan, Semnan, Bojnord, Mashhad, Birjand, Zahedan, Kerman, Yazd, Shiraz, Bandar Abbas, Bushehr, Yasuj, Ahvaz, Shahrekord, Isfahan, Khorramabad, Ilam, Kermanshah, Sanandaj, Urmia, Tabriz, Ardabil, Zanjan, Hamedan, Arak, and Qom.
I ask Iranians abroad—from Australia and East Asia to Europe and North America—to redouble your activities within the framework of the “Rise Iran” campaign to amplify the voice of the Iranian people to the media, international institutions, foreign governments, and parliaments.
Iran and its streets belong to the Iranian nation. And we will be victorious, because we are united and we are many.
Long live Iran,
Reza Pahlavi
He knows exactly what he is doing.
And he was probably encouraged to post such a message.
After months of economic pressure from the United States and Europe, the Iranian economy is a giant mess.
The overall inflation rate is up to 42 percent, and food prices have risen by 72 percent over the past year…
According to the state statistics center, the inflation rate in December rose to 42.2% from the same period last year and is 1.8% higher than in November. Food prices rose 72% and health and medical items were up 50% from December last year, according to the statistics center. Many critics see the rate as a sign of approaching hyperinflation.
When people can’t afford to buy enough food for their families, they tend to get very desperate.
One local merchant told a British news source that he was concerned that he would soon “have to bring suitcases of cash to simply buy bread”…
“What will my children eat? Do we have to bring suitcases of cash to simply buy bread? Do you find that normal?” Alborz told the Guardian over the phone, speaking under a pseudonym for fear of security reprisals.
Iran’s prosecutor general is acknowledging that Iranians that are hurting economically have a right to protest.
But he is also warning that if any protesters are engaged in the “implementation of externally designed scenarios”, they will face a “decisive response”…
“Peaceful livelihood protests are part of social and understandable realities,” Mohammad Movahedi-Azad told state media after protests started by shopkeepers in the capital city Tehran, which were joined by students and others in several cities across the country.
“Any attempt to turn economic protests into a tool of insecurity, destruction of public property, or implementation of externally designed scenarios will inevitably be met with a legal, proportionate and decisive response,” warned Movahedi-Azad.
The Iranians have seen this before.
During the 12 Day War, internal unrest suddenly erupted, and many were hoping that it would lead to the overthrow of the Iranian regime at that time.
And now that we are seemingly on the verge of more military conflict between Israel and Iran, the Israelis are publicly urging Iranians to “go out into the streets”…
His comments came days after the Mossad intelligence agency of Iran’s arch-foe Israel posted on social media that it was “with you on the ground,” in a message to Iranian protesters. Posting on its Persian-language X account, the spy agency encouraged Iranians to “go out into the streets together.”
The U.S. State Department also seems quite eager to add fuel to the fire…
In a post shared via its own Farsi language account on X, the U.S. State Department said Wednesday that it was “deeply concerned by reports and videos that peaceful protesters in Iran are facing intimidation, violence, and arrests.”
“Demanding basic rights is not a crime. The Islamic Republic must respect the rights of the Iranian people and end the repression,” the U.S. government said in the post.
“First the bazaars. Then the students. Now the whole country. Iranians are united. Different lives, one demand: respect our voices and our rights,” the State Department said in a subsequent post.
Over the past several decades, the U.S. has been involved in organizing and funding revolutions against anti-western governments all over the world.
So it would not surprise me at all to learn that our fingerprints are all over this one.
Of course the Iranians don’t exactly have a right to complain, because they have been attempting to spread revolution all over the Middle East since 1979.
Let’s watch Iran very closely and see what happens next.
Already, there are reports that Iranian security forces have gotten violent with some of the protesters…
“You must be naive to think Iranians trust this government or the regime,” said Farhad, a 19-year-old university student active in the protest movement who spoke under a pseudonym.
He and other students described how security services had confiscated student IDs and beaten and arrested some protesters. A protester in Tehran sent the Guardian a picture of a metal pellet, which they said was shot at them by security forces. The Guardian could not independently verify the claim of the protester.
“If the administration wanted to talk, they wouldn’t fire teargas, shoot at protesters and if dialogue is what they wanted, they would not have executed protesters in 2023. There is no willingness from any of us to talk to them, we want the mullahs gone and we want democracy,” Farhad added.
As footage of violence circulates on social media, that may inspire some protesters to take more extreme action.
On Wednesday, one group of protesters actually attempted to break into a local government building in Fasa…
Iranian protesters demonstrating over economic hardship and a plummeting currency attempted to break into a local government building as the unrest continued for a fourth day.
State media reported on Wednesday an organised group of “rioters” attempted to get into the local governorate building in Fasa in the southern province of Fars. Footage broadcast showed a group of people trying to break open the gate of the building.
“Their attack failed with the intervention of security forces,” state media said. “The leader of these rioters, a 28-year-old woman, was arrested.”
The semi-official Tasnim news agency cited a local official as saying three members of the security forces were wounded during the incident while four “attackers” had been detained.
A revolution that removes the Iranian regime from power may be one of the only ways that a cataclysmic military showdown between Israel and Iran can be avoided at this stage.
Newsweek is reporting that the Iranians are currently developing “unconventional warheads” that would have the capability of delivering chemical or biological weapons to Israeli targets…
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is working on the unconventional warheads for ballistic missiles while also repositioning missile launchers to the country’s eastern regions outlet Iran International quoted military sources as saying in a Monday report. The sources, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said these activities have accelerated in recent months.
The warheads are designed to carry and disperse chemical or biological agents when delivered by ballistic missiles, rather than conventional explosives, as an added form of deterrence alongside Iran’s existing missile force.
While the report noted that if confirmed, the move could drastically alter the region’s deterrence balance, it could trigger more intensified pressure on Tehran. Chemical and biological weapons are prohibited under international conventions to which Iran is a signatory.
The Israelis aren’t just going to sit there and allow the Iranians to do this.
They will strike first and ask questions later.
And once the missiles start flying again, things will get really insane in the Middle East.
I realize that most prominent voices are focused on other matters as we enter 2026.
But I believe that the drama that is unfolding in the Middle East has the potential to be one of the biggest stories during the year ahead, and so I will be monitoring developments very, very closely.
Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing. You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter. Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.