‘The Day Is Near’: Exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi Calls for Fresh Strikes, Signals Return To Homeland As Iran Protests Escalate

Iran’s exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi on Saturday issued a fresh call for nationwide agitation, urging Iranians to return to the streets over the weekend and escalate protests through targeted strikes and coordinated action, as anti-government demonstrations continue to intensify across the country.

In a strongly worded post on X, Pahlavi praised protesters for defying “threats” from Iran’s top leadership and claimed that renewed street demonstrations on Friday evening had sent shockwaves through the ruling establishment. He said sustained public pressure and economic disruption could bring the Islamic Republic “to its knees”.

“Now, with your decisive response to the first call, I am certain that by making our street presence more targeted, and at the same time, by cutting off the financial lifelines, we will completely bring the Islamic Republic and its worn-out and fragile repression apparatus to its knees,” he said in the post.

Calling for a decisive escalation, Pahlavi appealed to workers in key sectors, including transportation, oil, gas and energy, to launch a nationwide strike, a move widely seen as an attempt to choke the regime’s financial lifelines. He also urged citizens to take to the streets again on Saturday and Sunday at 6 pm, carrying national flags and symbols and to reclaim public spaces.

“Also, I ask all of you today and tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday (January 10 and 11), this time, from 6 p.m., to come to the streets with flags, images, and national symbols and claim public spaces as your own. Our goal is no longer merely to come to the streets; the goal is to prepare for seizing the centers of cities and holding them,” he said.

He asked demonstrators to ready supplies in anticipation of prolonged street presence, signalling a shift from sporadic protests to sustained occupation-style mobilisations.

In an appeal to Iran’s security forces, Pahlavi addressed members of the armed forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, urging those sympathetic to the protest movement to slow down and disrupt the state’s repression apparatus from within.

Towards the end of the message, the exiled royal dropped his strongest signal yet of a possible return to Iran, saying he was preparing to come back to the country to stand with the people “at the time of our national revolution’s victory”. “I too am preparing to return to the homeland so that at the time of our national revolution's victory, I can be beside you, the great nation of Iran. I believe that day is very near,” he added.

Pahlavi’s latest appeal comes amid reports of heightened anti-government unrest and follows earlier calls by him that supporters say helped galvanise public mobilisation. Iranian authorities have repeatedly accused exiled opposition figures of instigating unrest and working with foreign powers, charges that Pahlavi and his supporters deny.

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