Thousands of supporters of the Iranian authorities came to a pro-government rally in Tehran on Monday, intended to counterbalance the protests that have been going on for two weeks. The speaker of parliament announced that if US President Donald Trump follows through with his threats of intervention, he will learn an “unforgettable lesson.”
The official Tasnim news agency reported that the government, commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and religious authorities had summoned the population to a “nationwide gathering of people condemning riots, (…) destruction of public property, (…) desecration of mosques and insolent reference to the Holy Quran.”
During the rally, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf declared that Iran was waging a “war on four fronts.” Apart from the economic and psychological front, it is also fighting a “military war” with the United States and Israel, and – referring to the multi-day protests – a “war against terrorists”.
Ghalibaf said the military would teach Trump an “unforgettable lesson” if he followed through on his threats to attack Iran.
– The great Iranian nation has never allowed the enemy to achieve its goals – said the speaker of parliament, surrounded by banners with the slogans “Death to Israel, death to America.”
Galibaf threatened that in the event of an attack on Iran, “all American centers and forces throughout the region will become legitimate targets. Come and see how all your resources in the region will be annihilated,” he said.
Trump warned that he was seriously considering striking Iran in response to the bloody suppression of anti-regime protests. However, the American leader added that the Iranian authorities want to talk to him and he is ready for negotiations.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Bagei said on Monday that Tehran maintains open channels of communication with Washington. He emphasized that Iran is not seeking war, but is fully prepared for it.
Expert: There are three possible scenarios
Enabling communication with the world, the threat of military intervention and the announcement of breaking off trade relations are the best possible reactions of the West to the events in Iran, Ilan Berman, deputy head of the American Foreign Policy Council, told PAP. We should not make previous mistakes, he added.
Berman, vice-president of the Washington think tank American Foreign Policy Council, also admitted in an interview with PAP that the Iranian regime “is afraid of the United States”, therefore the threat of military action may force the authorities to “be more careful” in using force against demonstrators.
– The question is, and I don't know the answer, what level of violence against protesters will make the Trump administration take action, Berman noted and emphasized that a “much more effective means of pressure” on the Iranian regime would be to combine American threats with the message of other Western countries that the Iranian authorities, by bloodily suppressing the protests, risk being completely cut off from world trade.
In Berman's opinion, such a clearly formulated position of the entire West that “doing business with Iran will depend entirely on how the authorities behave towards their own people” and that there will be no return to “business as usual” could also dissuade the regime from taking “revenge” if the protests – as was the case in the past – die down.
– If they fail, although I hope they will not, we should not make previous mistakes and remember Iran this time, continue to pay attention to what is happening there and think about how best to help protesters the next time they take to the streets, the expert emphasized.
The specialist also admitted that as the protests continue, he expects the Iranian economy to destabilize and the authorities to put pressure on factories and enterprises to fire people who go out on the streets, which is why a fund is needed to provide the persecuted with the means to live.
The Persians protest. Why?
The wave of protests against economic problems began on December 28, 2025 and turned into one of the largest social uprisings against the Iranian regime in years. The speeches covered all 31 provinces of the country and gathered tens of thousands of people. The authorities responded to the demonstrations with an internet blockade, repression and mass arrests.
544 people died during the protests: 496 demonstrators and 48 members of the security services – reported the human rights organization HRANA, which operates from the USA, but relies on information from a network of activists in Iran. (PAP)
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