Iranian Protesters Rename Tehran Street After Trump, Plead for Help Amid Crackdown

Iranian protesters have intensified nationwide demonstrations over the past 24 hours, directly appealing to former President Donald Trump while chanting anti-regime slogans across the country. Video footage published Wednesday showed a protester in Tehran symbolically renaming a street after Trump, while other videos captured handwritten appeals reading, “Don’t let them kill us,” according to Iran International.

Holly Dagres, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute, shared video evidence of this phenomenon on social media, noting, “Since Trump’s comments about the Iran protests, I’ve seen numbers videos of Iranian protesters either thanking him or, in this case, renaming streets after the US president.”

These appeals come as demonstrators face an increasingly aggressive security response from Iranian authorities, who have deployed armed units and tear gas near major civilian sites in Tehran. The security operations have expanded into sensitive locations, with videos showing tear gas being used near or inside Tehran’s Sina Hospital and the Plasco Shopping Center.

Exiled Iranian opposition leader Reza Pahlavi described the current unrest as a historic opportunity to end Iran’s Islamic Republic. “In all these years, I’ve never seen an opportunity as we see today in Iran,” Pahlavi said in a televised interview on Tuesday. “Iranian people are more than ever committed to bringing an end to this regime, as the world has witnessed in the last few days, the level of demonstrations is unprecedented in Iran.”

Pahlavi noted that protests have spread to more than 100 cities and emphasized the crucial involvement of Iran’s traditional merchant class. The participation of merchants and bazaar shopkeepers represents a significant shift, as this group has historically played a pivotal role in Iranian political movements, including the 1979 Revolution. “We are beginning to see more and more defections,” Pahlavi added, suggesting growing cracks in regime support. “Either way, the regime is crumbling and is very close to collapsing.”

Over the past 24 hours, Iran International reported continued protests and strikes across numerous cities, including Tehran, Tabriz, Qazvin, Kermanshah, Kerman, Shiraz, Falavarjan and Bandar Abbas. Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, a historic economic and cultural hub, remains a focal point of unrest, with large crowds chanting against Iran’s leadership as authorities responded with tear gas and armed deployments.

The human toll continues to rise as authorities crack down on demonstrators. The Human Rights Activists News Agency, cited by Iran International on Wednesday, reported at least 36 people killed since protests began, including 34 protesters and two members of Iran’s security forces. The organization also documented more than 2,000 arrests nationwide, though Iranian authorities have not released updated official figures.

Fresh footage from the past day showed demonstrators lighting fires in the streets of Shiraz and chanting “Death to Khamenei,” referring to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who has led the country since 1989. In Qazvin, protesters were heard appealing directly to security forces, chanting, “Law enforcement, return to the side of the nation,” suggesting efforts to fracture the regime’s security apparatus.

The labor sector has also joined the unrest, with strikes reported at critical infrastructure sites including the South Pars gas refinery, one of the world’s largest natural gas fields and a crucial economic asset for Iran. Widespread shop closures have also been reported at major markets in Tehran and Tabriz, adding economic pressure to the political crisis.

These protests represent the latest challenge to the Islamic Republic’s authority, following previous waves of unrest in recent years, including the 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody. The current demonstrations, however, appear to have broader support across different segments of Iranian society and a more explicit focus on regime change rather than specific reforms.

The direct appeals to Trump from protesters come at a sensitive time, as Iran has long portrayed the United States as an enemy while simultaneously navigating complex diplomatic tensions over issues including its nuclear program, regional proxy activities, and human rights concerns.