Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s late Shah, on Friday issued a direct appeal to US President Donald Trump to intervene urgently as massive protests continue in the Islamic Republic and are now in their 13th day.
“Mr. President, this is an urgent and immediate call for your attention, support, and action. Last night you saw the millions of brave Iranians in the streets facing down live bullets. Today, they are facing not just bullets but a total communications blackout. No Internet. No landlines," the Iranian Crown Prince wrote in a post on social media.
He added that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, “fearing the end of his criminal regime at the hands of the people and with the help of your powerful promise to support the protesters, has threatened the people on the streets with a brutal crackdown. And he wants to use this blackout to murder these young heroes."
Pahlavi continued, “I have called the people to the streets to fight for their freedom and to overwhelm the security forces with sheer numbers. Last night they did that. Your threat to this criminal regime has also kept the regime’s thugs at bay. But time is of the essence. The people will be on the streets again in an hour. I am asking you to help."
“You have proven and I know you are a man of peace and a man of your word. Please be prepared to intervene to help the people of Iran," concluded Pahlavi.
His call comes as an Internet blackout implemented by Iranian authorities during the protests on Thursday continued into Friday and has now lasted 24 hours, according to internet freedom monitor Netblocks.
“It has now been 24 hours since Iran implemented a nationwide internet shutdown, with connectivity flatlining at 1% of ordinary levels," the organization wrote on social media.
An eyewitness in Tehran told Iran International that the protests continued on Friday night, marked by chants of “Death to the dictator," the torching of police and Islamic Republic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) vehicles, gunfire by IRGC forces, blocked streets, and car horn honking.
"The internet has been completely shut down, card payment terminals are not working, phone calls are impossible, and only Rightel users are able to send text messages," the eyewitness told Iran International.
Footage sent to Iran International from Tehran's Pounak showed protesters chanting slogans such as, "Canon, Tank, Firecrackers; Mullah must get lost."
According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, at least 62 people have been killed in the demonstrations so far, and more than 2,300 have been detained.
Earlier on Friday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei downplayed the widespread protests in his country, claiming they are driven by fringe elements.
Attacking Trump, he warned, "The US President should focus on his own country's problems."
"Some of those inciting the riots want to please the American President by vandalizing public property. The united Iranian people will defeat all enemies," he added.
"The US President should know that all dictators fell at the peak of their power. The hands of the US are stained with the blood of more than 1,000 Iranian leaders and innocent civilians," Khamenei concluded.
On Thursday, Trump reiterated his warning that the US would hit Iran “very hard" if its leadership kills protesters.
In an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, Trump said, “What they've done in the past, they've started shooting the hell out of people. And all of a sudden, people without any weapons whatsoever standing there and get machine guns, gunning them down, or they grab, take them to prisons and then hang them and kill them. So they played rough. And I said, if they do that, we're going to hit them very hard. We're going to hit them hard."
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)