Free Republic

US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) refuted reports on Thursday that President Donald Trump was backing down from US action in Iran. "All the headlines like these are examples of reporting that are beyond inaccurate," Graham wrote on X. "The circumstances around the necessary, decisive action to be taken against the evil Iranian regime have nothing to do with President Trump’s will or determination. Nothing could be further from the truth. Quite the opposite. Stay tuned," he added. While at one point on Wednesday, tensions seemed to be at their highest and US action in Iran seemed imminent, as night fell...

In this Downfall parody, Hitler gives Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, a call to discuss the widespread protests in his country. Harangues him to step down, but Khamenei is impervious and in denial, as was Hitler.

Stirring song in English, on-scene footage, protest slogans in Farsi.

"Donald Trump is an arrogant man who will be overthrown, and is attacking the Islamic Nation, Persian piped in "sieg heil" in Farsi. It's a short. There are subtitles.

Iranian-Americans in New York called the Islamic republic’s savage massacre of anti-regime protesters “heartbreaking” – as they anxiously wait to see what action President Trump takes to back demonstrators. The death toll from the protests that were sparked over Iran’s crumbling economy has reached more than 500 protesters as the government is accused of detaining more than 10,000 people – leading Trump to threaten US military force against the authoritarian regime. “Iranian government, you can’t trust them,” said a 61-year-old Great Neck man whose wife remains in Iran.

The final form of Iran’s future system whether a parliamentary constitutional monarchy or a republic should be determined through a free and fair referendum, without coercion or external imposition. Only the Iranian people have the sovereign right to shape their destiny through democratic processes. However, the international community has a moral and strategic obligation to listen to the voices from Iran’s streets and respond appropriately… Decisive policy is essential: combining “maximum pressure” on the regime through targeted sanctions, isolation, and accountability for human rights violations, with “maximum support” for the people. This includes moral encouragement through public channels, political backing...

City after city has been reclaimed by jubilant, joyous crowds across Iran in the past few days."This is the final battle,Pahlavi will return"Tonight in Tehran, Iran's capital.pic.twitter.com/C6pyxSIB9M— 𝐍𝐢𝐨𝐡 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐠 ♛ ✡︎ (@NiohBerg) January 8, 2026The streets in the capital of Tehran are alive tonight. 🚨SE TERMINÓ DE PUDRIR EN IRÁN🚨Las calles de Teherán completamente tomadas por los manifestantes que piden derrocar al ayatola. pic.twitter.com/PYDysqhIx7— ASB (@GordoLeyes) January 8, 2026Throngs of people, who sometimes seem as if it's the entire population in the street at one time, are marching and cheering, defying the basiji thugs who would brutalize and beat them...

Mahyar Tousi, host of Tousi TV, delivered a live stream update on the escalating situation in Iran. He reported that the Islamic Republic has effectively declared war on its own citizens by deploying official IRGC military forces after withdrawing police and Basij units from the streets. This shift followed massive protests across the country, with millions responding to calls from Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi to take to the streets. Tousi claimed exclusive direct access to sources inside Iran despite a nationwide shutdown of internet, mobile data, and phone lines (with some limited access via Starlink). He described widespread demonstrations in...

After a night with lots of bloodshed, it appears that the IRGC military are backing down. The Iranian demonstrators have taken over the streets in major cities again.

**Welcome back to Tusi TV. This is your global news channel, and I’m Amaya Tusi.** Three of Iran’s largest cities—Tehran, Shiraz, and Mashhad—have now fallen into the hands of anti-Islamic Republic Iranians. The IRGC forces have retreated from these major urban centers. We are also receiving reports that Karaj is very close to collapse amid fierce clashes between IRGC military units and the Iranian people. More video updates are coming in constantly, and in just a few minutes we will be joined by Andrew Galilei, Policy Director of the National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFDI), representing the official opposition...

Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Monday rebuffed claims by US President Donald Trump that the Islamic Republic’s nuclear sites had been destroyed by US strikes in June. In a statement on his official website, Khamenei told Trump to “keep dreaming” over the comments on the sites’ destruction and questioned the US president’s right “to say what a country should or should not have if it possesses a nuclear industry.” For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app. In mid-June, Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign on Iran. The US briefly joined in,...

DUBAI, June 16 (Reuters) - Iran does not intend to develop nuclear weapons but will pursue its right to nuclear energy and research, President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday, reiterating Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's religious edict against weapons of mass destruction.

Former Iranian deputy parliament speaker on Monday criticized Russia for refusing to provide Iran with the S-400 air defense system, despite Tehran supplying drones used in the war in Ukraine. “Russia has given the S-400 air defense system to Turkey and Saudi Arabia, but does not give it to Iran, which has provided it with drone assistance in the war with Ukraine, because it might be used against Israel,” Ali Motahari wrote in a post on X. “This is what the strategic cooperation with Iran that Mr. Putin talks about looks like,” he added.

Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, on Friday responded to US President Donald Trump’s criticism of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In a post on his X account, Araghchi demanded that Trump show respect to Khamenei if he genuinely wants to reach a deal with Iran on its nuclear program. “The complexity and tenacity of Iranians is famously known in our magnificent carpets, woven through countless hours of hard work and patience. But as a people, our basic premise is very simple and straightforward: we know our worth, value our independence, and never allow anyone else to decide our destiny,”...

Iran is in trouble, and the theocratic clique that has ruled the country for 46 years is worried. Who is Israel going to target next? There's no protection for anyone in Iran. Politicians, scientists, bureaucrats, and military leaders are all looking over their shoulders or watching the sky anxiously, wondering if there's a bomb or a drone with their name on it. Paranoia has gripped the Iranian elites. This has resulted in what Reuters describes as a "campaign of widespread arrests." There's also an "intensified street presence" as authorities attempt to head off any kind of mass protests, such as...

Iran’s so-called “Supreme Leader” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei emerged from exile Thursday to claim victory over Israel and said his country had “delivered a hand slap to America’s face” in his first public comments since a ceasefire was declared in the war between the two countries. AP reports Khamenei spoke in a video broadcast on Iranian state television, his first public appearance since June 19 and aside from his sweeping claims on social media. Viewers were told the U.S. had only intervened in the war because “it felt that if it did not intervene, the Zionist regime would be utterly destroyed.”...

The Crown Prince of Iran Reza Pahlavi gives a news conference in Paris to speak about the current situation in the country, the need to support Iranians and his future plan for the nation. Calls on Khamenei to step down, and officials loyal to Iranian people to work with him now. Warns international community not to throw ayatollahs a lifeline. Mostly in English, also in Farsi and French in response to Q&A from international press. Transcript linked below video.

Following U.S. airstrikes targeting Iran’s key nuclear facilities, Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of the Iranian opposition group National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), declared, “Now Khamenei must go.” She added, “The Iranian people welcome the end of the war and seek peace and freedom.” On Sunday, Rajavi delivered a sharp rebuke of the regime, calling for sweeping change and blaming the Supreme Leader for years of costly miscalculations that have pushed the nation into crisis, driven by a now-destroyed nuclear weapons program pursued at the Iranian people’s expense. “Khamenei is responsible for an unpatriotic project that, in addition to...

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been sheltering in a bunker since the onset of Israeli strikes and has secretly designated three possible successors in the event he is killed, the New York Times reported on Saturday, citing Iranian officials. According to the report, Khamenei, 86, has also appointed replacements for the top military chain of command, fearing that more senior leaders could be targeted by Israel following the deaths of several high-ranking officials earlier in the opening blows of the campaign. The three Iranian sources, who requested anonymity, said Khamenei now communicates with commanders exclusively through an aide...

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is being mocked mercilessly over a slew of bizarre social media posts that resurfaced as the Israel-Iran war broke out — including his musings about treating a woman right and even being “naughty&playful” as a school kid. The odd posts date back at least a decade and are in stark contrast to the anti-Israel and war rhetoric that now fills the social media feed of the 86-year-old leader and most senior cleric in the extremist Islamic Republic. In one from 2013, Khamenei recalled his awkward school days. “I went 2school w/a cloak since1st days;it...