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Islamic Republic in ‘survival mode’ amid protests, Iranian officials said to believe
Times of Israel ^ | January 4, 2026 | Agencies

Posted on 01/04/2026 11:21:40 PM PST by KingofZion

Senior officials in Iran have acknowledged that the country has been “thrust into survival mode” amid growing and increasingly violent protests against the Islamic Republic’s regime, the New York Times reported.

At least 16 people have been killed during a week of unrest in Iran, rights groups said on Sunday, as protests spread across the country, sparking violent clashes between demonstrators and security forces.

Deaths and arrests have been reported throughout the week, both by state media and rights groups, though the figures differ.

The protests are the biggest in three years. Some senior figures have struck a softer tone than in some previous bouts of unrest, at a moment of vulnerability for the Iran with the economy in tatters and international pressure building.

After US President Donald Trump threatened to intervene if Iran killed peaceful protesters on Friday, the country’s Supreme National Security Council held a meeting to discuss how to temper the protests without reacting violently and avoid fueling the rage toward the regime, three Iranian officials familiar with government deliberations told The New York Times on Sunday.

The council also prepared for a scenario where Iran was hit with military strikes, the report said.

Amid the protests, senior officials have acknowledged the Islamic Republic, which came to power in the revolution of 1979, has now been “thrust into survival mode,” the three officials told the Times.

***

According to an intelligence report shared with the British daily, The Times, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, will flee Tehran to Moscow with his aides and family members if his security forces fail to halt the growing demonstrations or desert his side amid the unrest.

***MORE

(Excerpt) Read more at timesofisrael.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Iran; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: crisis; iran; islamofascism; mullahcracy
The fat lady is warming up.
1 posted on 01/04/2026 11:21:40 PM PST by KingofZion
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To: KingofZion
The fat lady is warming up.

Yes, and she is fixing to belt out a tune. I saw, by watching TOUSI tv, that msny of the people have gotten hold of weapons. They must have broken into police armories.

2 posted on 01/04/2026 11:37:09 PM PST by Mark17 (Retired USAF air traffic controller. 🎤 Father of USAF ISR pilot. ✈️ Aviation is in our DNA)
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To: KingofZion

I am betting there wont be massive kills, because the Iranian Red Guard is weighing that they will be held accountable for what they do from herein.


3 posted on 01/05/2026 12:15:47 AM PST by Jonty30 (Escasooners are faster than escalators,)
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To: Mark17

I’ve been watching Tousi TV as well, I saw on there that Crown Prince and Heir to the Throne has said he’s returning to country and is naming a transitional government, might be wishful thinking but things appear to be turning against the Mullahs big time.


4 posted on 01/05/2026 12:20:05 AM PST by srmanuel
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To: KingofZion

Great news


5 posted on 01/05/2026 1:56:19 AM PST by Milagros
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To: KingofZion

Rise Persia. The Lions are on the loose.


6 posted on 01/05/2026 1:58:01 AM PST by Kudsman (47 is making things right again. )
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To: KingofZion
After the fat lady is done singing:

1. Execute all Islamic religious leaders.
2. Dynamite all mosques.
3. Ban the teaching of Islam in Persia.

7 posted on 01/05/2026 2:20:34 AM PST by Enterprise (These people have no honor, no belief, no poetry, no art, no humor, no patriotism.)
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To: Enterprise

YES!


8 posted on 01/05/2026 3:19:04 AM PST by PGalt (Past Peak Civilization?)
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To: Enterprise

Will Zoroastrianism be making a comeback? /s


9 posted on 01/05/2026 3:43:01 AM PST by SharpenedEdge (Stockpile. Prepare. Arm. Train. A Storm is coming.)
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To: KingofZion

I wonder why they don’t have any guns? They seem to be doing ok without them but if they had some...
I don’t own a gun but I’m reconsidering.


10 posted on 01/05/2026 3:45:16 AM PST by nuf said (Our Border, Our Choice!)
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To: KingofZion

Meanwhile the Islamic Republic is growing in Europe, Australia and the U.S.


11 posted on 01/05/2026 5:00:24 AM PST by Old Yeller
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To: KingofZion

The cops earn $120 a month. Some aren’t being paid. And cops aren’t aliens. Some even have kids among the protesters. When push comes to shove, many will side with kin. Especially if it looks like the regime’s not long for the world.

You hear about the last soldier to die in a war. How’d you like to be the last cop to shoot a protestor dead just before the regime falls? These people will generally do what they’re told. But to gamble on a regime not collapsing when it’s looking shaky and risk getting lynched when it does? $120 a month isn’t enough to roll the dice.


12 posted on 01/05/2026 5:31:40 AM PST by Zhang Fei (My dad had a Delta 88. That was a car. It was like driving your living room)
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To: nuf said

Not every country allows its citizens or subjects to have firearms.


13 posted on 01/05/2026 6:24:07 AM PST by Disambiguator
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Arthur Wildfire! March; Berosus; Bockscar; BraveMan; cardinal4; ...

14 posted on 01/05/2026 6:59:47 AM PST by SunkenCiv (NeverTrumpin' -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
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To: nuf said

Get with the program.
Stop considering, and get yourself some protection!!
Remember, one second count, the cops are only minutes away!
You are the first one defense for yourself and your family, always!


15 posted on 01/05/2026 7:30:32 AM PST by bantam
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To: KingofZion

The protesters are starting to get weapons which is really freaking out the IRGC.


16 posted on 01/05/2026 8:31:22 AM PST by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
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