Marked successes amid tremendous losses found Iranian protesters standing against the Islamist regime, imploring President Donald Trump to intercede.
“Don’t let them kill us.”
Massive economic strife, coupled with the oppressive rule of the Islamic Republic of Iran, reportedly still fixated on developing its weapons program, left decimated by 2025’s Operation Midnight Hammer, has seen the people of Iran rise up across the nation.
Now, after over a week and a half of protests that have seen thousands arrested and dozens killed by the regime, at least two cities are said to have been taken over by regime opposition, while petitions to “symbol of peace” Trump spread across social media.
Near East Policy Research president and National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) member Ali Safavi told Fox News Digital as protesters reportedly took control of the cities of Abdanan and Malekshahi, “Today there was a major development in two cities in Western Iran that have been effectively taken over and people are actually celebrating in the streets.”
“They were chanting, ‘Death to Khamenei!'” he noted. “Despite everything the regime has done, the fear factor seems to have shifted because people have made the suppressive forces flee.”
Some examples of pleas to the president were shared by Iran International English which posted a video of a woman holding a sign that read, “[T]rump, a symbol of peace. [Don’t] let them kill us,” as well as graffiti with the message, “Trump a symbol of Truth … Don’t let them kill us.”
Protesters in Iran have appealed to US President Donald Trump for help, according to videos sent to Iran International on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/IGPIuzAjdj
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) January 6, 2026
Likewise, as appeals were made to Trump to act against the Islamist regime and in support of Iranian crown prince and opposition leader Reza Pahlavi, NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi captioned a video montage, “From city to city across Iran, sparks are turning into open uprising. Salute to the courageous people of Malekshahi and Abdanan in Ilam, who boldly took over the streets with chants of ‘Death to Khamenei’ and drove the regime’s enforcers into retreat.”
“Salute to the resistance units and centers of uprising in cities, neighborhoods, and regions across the country, standing firm for the realization of a democratic republic,” she went on to add. “This is a fire that cannot be extinguished.”
From city to city across Iran, sparks are turning into open uprising.
Salute to the courageous people of Malekshahi and Abdanan in Ilam, who boldly took over the streets with chants of “Death to Khamenei” and drove the regime’s enforcers into retreat.
Salute to the uprising in… pic.twitter.com/vuN2khQwwa— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) January 6, 2026
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported that the death toll of protesters has exceeded 34, and over 2,000 citizens have been arrested since the resistance movement had mobilized at the end of 2025.
Amnesty International’s Iranian account emphasized, “The Iranian security forces’ attack on a hospital in Ilam, where injured protesters are seeking medical care or shelter violates international law and exposes yet again how far the Iranian authorities are willing to go to crush dissent.”
🧵The Iranian security forces’ attack on a hospital in Ilam, where injured protesters are seeking medical care or shelter violates international law and exposes yet again how far the Iranian authorities are willing to go to crush dissent. 1/6 pic.twitter.com/8sCvlHJetg
— Amnesty Iran (@AmnestyIran) January 6, 2026
“What makes the 2025 protests different to before is that the knife has reached the bone for Iranian citizens,” Safavi expressed. “People feel they have nothing anymore and have reached a breaking point.”
As inflation has exceeded 50% in December compared to the year prior, the regime’s effort at appeasement has promised $7 per month for the next four months to buy basic necessities.
Meanwhile, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) put Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on notice Tuesday evening on Fox News, asserting, “[Trump’s] not turning his back on the people of Iran who are demanding that their oppression end. And to the ayatollah and his thugs, if you keep killing your people in defiance of President Trump, you’re gonna wake up dead. Iran is on the verge of falling.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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