Trump warns “we’ll start shooting too” after regime deploys Iraqi terrorist groups against its own people
Thirteen days into Iran’s largest uprising since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has resorted to importing foreign terrorist militias to kill protesters his own security forces won’t.
The regime brought in over 800 fighters from U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations—Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat al-Nujaba, and Sayyid al-Shuhada—according to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Witnesses in Kermanshah confirmed Arabic-speaking members of Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi firing on crowds. These are the same groups that killed over 600 American servicemembers in Iraq and massacred Syrian civilians under Assad.
The reason is simple: Tehran doesn’t trust its own forces. Leaked radio communications from Isfahan captured a commander screaming “We have no forces!” as protesters attacked the state broadcasting center. In Borujerd, a panicked State Security Force commander ordered troops to retreat to rooftops. In Abadan, units fled after tear gas failed. At least 65 people are dead. Over 2,000 arrested. State media now calls protesters “terrorists”—the rhetorical precursor to mass slaughter.
President Trump noticed. “Iran’s in big trouble,” he said Friday. “It looks to me that the people are taking over certain cities that nobody thought were really possible just a few weeks ago.” Then: “You better not start shooting because we’ll start shooting too.”
On January 3, Trump ordered the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro—an operation that killed over 100 people and put a head of state in a Manhattan federal cell. Iranian officials are citing Venezuela explicitly. Senator Lindsey Graham put it plainly: “To the Ayatollahs: you need to understand—if you keep killing your people who are demanding a better life—Donald J. Trump is going to kill you.”
What makes this uprising different isn’t just scale—348 sites across 111 cities in all 31 provinces. It’s who started it. The bazaaris, Tehran’s merchant class, were the financial backbone of the 1979 revolution that brought Khamenei’s predecessor to power. Their alliance with the Shiite clergy has been the regime’s foundation for 47 years. When the rial collapsed to a record 145,000 to the dollar and inflation hit 42.2%, bazaar merchants shuttered their shops. The regime blamed them as “price gougers.” They responded by joining students, workers, and ethnic minorities in the streets, chanting “Death to the dictator.” Iran International called it a “historic break.” The regime’s traditional base has turned.
The uprising comes six months after the 12-day war with Israel devastated Iran’s military infrastructure. Israeli strikes killed 30 generals and nine nuclear scientists. U.S. bunker-busters hit Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. The regime lost Assad, its most important regional ally. Hezbollah is degraded. The “Axis of Resistance” lies in ruins. Russia provides rhetorical support but no military assistance. China buys discounted oil but won’t intervene. Intelligence reports cited by The Times indicate Khamenei has an escape plan ready—a flight to Moscow with approximately 20 family members, including his son Mojtaba.
Friday prayers in Zahedan ended with protesters marching into gunfire. Crowds in Tehran, Mashhad, Tabriz, and Isfahan returned to the streets despite a nationwide internet blackout. The regime staged counter-protests; state TV claimed “tens of thousands” attended. The footage showed modest crowds waving Khamenei portraits.
Barry Rosen, held hostage in Iran for 444 days during the 1979 revolution, offered this: “What is happening in Iran right now is unlike anything I have seen since. This is not a moment of unrest—it is a breaking point.”
The regime’s judiciary chief vowed punishment will be “decisive, maximum and without any legal leniency.” Khamenei accused protesters of being “mercenaries for foreigners.”
But the mercenaries aren’t in the streets. They’re the Iraqi militia fighters Tehran imported because its own people won’t kill for it anymore.
Support Independent Local Journalism — High Country Advocate was created as a real alternative to regional media that too often silences dissenting voices while taking sides in the political struggle. Producing in-depth, unflinching reporting like this series and others is expensive: servers, editing, research time, and legal review all add up quickly. If these articles have informed you or given you new perspective, please consider supporting HCA with a paid subscription — every subscriber helps keep this reporting strong and independent. 