As Diaspora Voices Demand ‘Burn It All Down,’ Trump Threatens Military Intervention
“Iranians in occupied Iran are burning down religious institutions because they’re sick of Sharia Law,” Goldie Ghamari posted to her 220,000 Instagram followers Thursday. “Burn it all down.”
The Iranian-Canadian activist’s call echoes across diaspora networks as protests enter a sixth day with at least seven dead. Friday morning, President Trump made the call official: “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”
Ghamari is a polarizing figure—a former Ontario legislator kicked out of her party caucus in June 2024 for meeting with British far-right activist Tommy Robinson, later stripped of her law license for professional misconduct. She’s also built a social media following of 384,000 on TikTok amplifying what she calls the fight against “Islamic terrorism.” Her current messaging frames Iran’s economic protests as civilizational warfare: “Islamic Regime forces are RETREATING from the anti-Islam pro-Shah demonstrators.”
She’s not alone. Exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi posted New Year’s Eve that the “regime has reached the end of the road” and called 2026 “the definitive moment for change.” Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad shared videos of protesters chanting “Mullahs must leave Iran.” Maryam Rajavi, head of the opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran, predicted the regime is “doomed to be overthrown by the risen populace.”
What these diaspora voices are highlighting—and what Western media largely misses—is that pro-monarchy chants are dominating Iranian streets for the first time in 50 years. “This is the final battle, Pahlavi will return” has become a rallying cry from Tehran to Qom. The Lion and Sun flag of the pre-1979 monarchy appears in protest videos across dozens of cities.
Trump’s Friday morning Truth Social post transformed diaspora advocacy into potential military policy. “If Iran shots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue,” he wrote. “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”
Iran’s response came within hours. Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, warned that U.S. intervention would mean “chaos in the entire region and the destruction of the U.S. interests.” Ali Shamkhani, adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said any “interventionist hand that attacks Iran’s security under any pretext whatsoever will be exposed to a response.”
The stakes are immediate. The U.S. maintains major military installations throughout the Gulf, including Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. Iran attacked that base in June 2025 during the 12-day war when U.S. and Israeli forces struck Iranian nuclear sites. Trump’s threat to intervene over protest deaths creates a tripwire for direct military confrontation.
The protests began December 28 when Tehran bazaar merchants closed their shops as the Iranian rial collapsed to 1.45 million per U.S. dollar. The currency was trading at 820,000 one year ago. Inflation hit 42.2 percent in December. Food prices surged 72 percent.
Within 48 hours, economic grievance evolved into revolutionary demand. The demonstrations spread to universities, drawing students from Tehran’s most prestigious institutions. By January 1, protests had reached 50 cities including Qom, the clergy stronghold where Shia clerics traditionally control the streets.
The death toll reached at least seven by Thursday night. The most contested death involves Amirhesam Khodayarifard, 21 or 22, shot in the head during protests in Kuhdasht on December 31. State media claimed he was a Basij paramilitary member killed by “rioters.” His father publicly rejected that claim at the funeral. Mourners chanted “I will kill the one who killed my brother” and “This is the final battle, Pahlavi will return.”
Other confirmed deaths include Dariush Ansari Bakhtiariwand, shot with a Kalashnikov rifle in Fuladshahr, and Shayan Asadollahi in Azna. Three more were killed when protesters stormed a police station in Azna. The IRGC claims one Basij member died in Kuhdasht, but rights groups identify him as a protester.
Tactics have escalated beyond 2022’s Mahsa Amini protests. In Lordegan, protesters burned the governor’s office, the judiciary building, and the Foundation of Martyrs. In Azna, they occupied a security force base and set fire to police vehicles. In Marvdasht, protesters fought back against security forces opening fire, forcing them to retreat and burning a police vehicle.
Videos show Iranians in Babol setting the Islamic Republic’s flag on fire. In Farsan, protesters torched a clerical seminary. The statue of Qassem Soleimani—the IRGC commander killed by a U.S. drone strike in 2020—was set ablaze in Lali.
The regime’s response reveals vulnerability. President Masoud Pezeshkian admitted “If the problems aren’t solved, we cannot govern”—an acknowledgment some interpret as political bankruptcy. Gholamreza Tajgardoun, head of parliament’s Budget Consolidation Commission, revealed that $8 billion in oil revenue—38 percent of sales over eight months—never returned to the country. Iran sold $21 billion in oil but received only $13 billion.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appointed IRGC Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi as deputy commander to oversee the crackdown. Vahidi is internationally wanted for terrorism and under U.S. sanctions for his role in the 2022 Mahsa Amini protest suppression. The appointment signals that standard police forces are failing to contain the unrest.
The government arrested seven people Wednesday including five identified as “monarchists” and two linked to “European-based groups.” At least 30 were arrested in Tehran’s Malard district. Cloudflare recorded a 25 percent drop in Iranian internet traffic on January 1 due to government throttling, though authorities haven’t implemented the full shutdown used in 2019 and 2022.
The international dimension extends beyond Trump’s threat. Israel’s Science Minister Gila Gamliel posted a selfie wearing a “Make Iran Great Again” cap and told Iran International that Israel endorses Reza Pahlavi for regime change. The Mossad intelligence agency posted social media support for protesters, suggesting potential “on the ground” involvement.
Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met December 30 at Mar-a-Lago to discuss potential “round two” strikes on Iran’s nuclear and missile programs. Australia expanded sanctions on IRGC-linked figures Thursday. Senator Ted Cruz, Senator Rick Scott, and British politician Nigel Farage voiced support for the protesters.
Whether diaspora voices like Ghamari are amplifying a genuine revolutionary moment or creating that narrative through coordinated messaging remains the central question. The regime faces an impossible choice: conciliation risks appearing weak and encouraging more protests, while crackdown risks triggering Trump’s military intervention threat.
What’s undeniable is that these protests differ fundamentally from 2022’s Mahsa Amini demonstrations. Pro-monarchy slogans dominate. Protesters actively fight back rather than retreat under fire. The clergy stronghold of Qom has been breached. Government buildings burn in multiple cities. The regime acknowledges the monarchist threat by arresting “monarchists” specifically.
Ghamari’s inflammatory rhetoric may repel some observers, but her core observation holds: something different is happening in Iran. Whether it ends in revolution, brutal suppression, or U.S. military intervention now depends on choices made in Tehran, Washington, and the streets of 50 Iranian cities where protesters continue chanting for the return of the Shah.
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