For decades, the Iranian regime has ruled the same way it always has, with bullets, batons, prisons, and mass graves. Any time the Iranian people rise up and demand basic human dignity, the response from Tehran is immediate and savage. The regime shoots protesters in the streets, beats them in alleys, drags them into jails, and hopes fear will do the rest. This is not a bug in the system. It is the system.
The Shiite clerical regime is notorious for gunning down young protesters during political uprisings. Videos of anti riot police firing directly into crowds have circulated for years. In 2022, footage showed a regime sniper calmly aiming into a group of protesters and pulling the trigger like he was at a shooting range. No warning shots. No restraint. Just murder, caught on camera.
This behavior is nothing new. In 2009, after a disputed election that handed victory to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, tens of thousands of Iranians poured into the streets demanding accountability. The response from the regime of Ali Khamenei was gunfire. One of the most haunting moments came when a young woman, Neda Agha Soltan, was shot in the neck during a protest in Tehran on June 20, 2009. Her death became a symbol of the regime’s cruelty and the protesters’ courage.
As the crackdown intensified, the crowds sent a message to Washington, chanting, “Obama, Obama, Are you with the regime or with us?” The answer came back loud and clear through silence. Barack Obama never showed up. He never stood with the protesters. Later, it became clear why. His administration was busy cutting a nuclear deal and did not want to upset the mullahs. Iranian lives were expendable if it meant a foreign policy “legacy.”
Fast forward to this week. Protesters once again flooded the streets of every major Iranian city, furious over corruption, repression, and a failed state that can barely keep the lights on. The regime responded the only way it knows how, by shooting people in the streets. The killing continues, and the world is once again watching videos of unarmed civilians being hunted by their own government.
This time, however, the message from Washington was very different. On Friday, President Trump issued a warning that stopped the world. He wrote, “If Iran shots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue.”
Donald J. Trump Truth Social 01.02.26 02:58 AM pic.twitter.com/kfnlJ1Sm7y
— Commentary Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) January 2, 2026
No American president has ever said anything like that. Not even close. The Iranian regime understands something important about President Trump. He does not bluff. When he speaks, he means it. That reality alone changes the entire equation. Keep an eye on Iran. History may be turning.
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