The government’s call for rallies in support of the Islamic republic drew thousands today, a turnout supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hailed as proof that the protests – which the authorities attribute to foreign interference – had been defeated. At Enghelab (Revolution) Square, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf told the crowd that Iran was fighting a “four-front war”, listing economic war, psychological war, “military war” with the United States and Israel, and “today a war against terrorists” – a reference to the protests. Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran’s ousted shah who has been vocal in calling for protests, told CBS news the government was “trying to trick the world into thinking that (it) is ready to negotiate once again”.
Author: AFP
Published at: 2026-01-12 22:18:02
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