Iranian Protesters Buoyed by Trump Administration’s Persian Outreach Following Obama-Biden Period, Activists Report

The State Department has ramped up criticism of Iran’s regime on its Persian-language social media accounts, echoing President Donald Trump’s forceful stance toward Tehran amid growing nationwide protests against the country’s ruling ayatollahs.

In a recent social media post, Trump warned Iran’s leadership: “If Iran shots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go.” A State Department spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital that “President Trump’s latest truth social post regarding Iran speaks for itself.”

The escalation in rhetoric comes as demonstrations intensify across Iran. Reports indicate protesters had taken control of many streets in Abdanan, located in western Iran’s Ilam province, where demonstrators chanted “Death to Khamenei” and “This year is a year of blood, Seyed Ali (Khamenei) will be overthrown,” according to footage obtained by Iran International news organization.

The State Department’s Persian-language account (@USABehFarsi) has adopted a similarly assertive tone, posting: “President Trump is a man of action. If you didn’t know before, now you do. Don’t mess with President Trump.” The message was accompanied by an image showing Trump with his leadership team during operations against former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, who had been backed by Iran.

This shift in diplomatic messaging represents a significant departure from previous administrations’ approaches to Iranian protests. British-Iranian journalist Potkin Azarmehr noted the contrast with the Obama era, recalling that during the 2009 protests in Iran, demonstrators angrily chanted, “Obama, are you with us or with them?” Azarmehr questioned the absence of support from “Western activist elite protesters,” asking whether they were “on the side of the ayatollahs.”

Iran analyst Alirzeza Nader praised the current approach but cautioned the administration to “stay neutral when it comes to the opposition’s leadership. Let Iranians figure it out.” This stands in contrast to previous administrations that promoted what Nader described as “the reformist line” represented by former Iranian presidents Hassan Rouhani and Mohammad Khatami, who promised modest reforms while maintaining allegiance to the Islamic Republic—a regime consistently classified by the State Department as a leading state sponsor of terrorism.

Navid Mohebbi, who previously worked as a Persian media analyst for the State Department’s Public Affairs Bureau, described how the department’s Persian-language social media presence had become “a ghost town” during the Biden administration, “largely losing its relevance and impact.” He observed that following Trump’s recent statement, the account has displayed “a renewed level of activity reminiscent of his first term,” with its “anti-regime tone” noticeably intensifying over the past four days.

Mohebbi advised that the account should avoid becoming involved in opposition infighting while remaining sensitive to Iranian public sentiment. “I hope Trump’s warning message to the regime will serve as a catalyst for upgrading the messaging strategy of this account and restoring its former effectiveness,” he added.

Iranian-American expert Reza Parchizadeh characterized the State Department’s current Persian-language messaging as effectively projecting “a sense of American support and hope toward Iranian protesters,” while attempting to reflect “the breadth and diversity of protest activity rather than treating it episodically or selectively.”

This approach marks a significant departure from the Obama administration, which Parchizadeh said “prioritized reaching a diplomatic accommodation with the Islamic Republic and reintegrating the regime into the international system.” Within that framework, he noted, “popular protests and organized opposition inside Iran were largely downplayed by the State Department in order to avoid complicating negotiations or signaling regime vulnerability.”

The renewed diplomatic posture comes as anti-government protests continue to spread across Iran, presenting one of the most significant challenges to the Islamic Republic’s authority in recent years.