Iran’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi took aim at Iran’s leadership and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday night as the country’s internet shutdown entered its twelfth day and security forces maintained what residents describe as near-martial-law conditions on the streets.
In a video message posted to social media, Pahlavi addressed both Iran’s leadership and the public, accusing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the ruling system of responsibility for the bloodshed during weeks of unrest, and urging Iranians not to allow grief and fear to halt the protest movement.
“My address is to Ali Khamenei, the leader of the occupying regime of Iran:
You are an anti-Iranian criminal,” the crown prince said. “You have neither honor nor humanity. Your hands are stained with the blood of tens of thousands of Iranians - the blood of children, of young people, of the innocent.
“You, your regime, and all your mercenaries will be held accountable for every single drop of blood you have spilled - without exception.
“Just as Nazi criminals were tried and punished in Nuremberg, you and your accomplices will also be tried and punished - in the court of the Iranian people.”
The crown prince also issued a fresh appeal to Iranians in his message to continue protesting against the Islamic Republic, stating, “The grief of losing Iran’s finest sons and daughters is heavy. But we will turn this grief into conscious anger, and into an unbreakable will against Khamenei and all his internal and external enablers.
“Be ready. The moment of returning to the streets will come - broader, stronger, more determined than ever; to take Tehran; to reclaim Iran.”
The message appeared as demonstrations across Iran have sharply diminished in the past few days amid a sweeping security crackdown, with armed forces deployed in major cities and widespread arrests reported.
Heavily armed patrols, restricted movement in urban centers
Messages passed to The Jerusalem Post in recent days describe heavily armed patrols and restrictions on movement in urban centers.
Iran’s internet disruption, one of the longest imposed in recent years, has severely limited communication inside the country and hindered independent verification of events on the ground. Internet monitoring groups have reported only intermittent connectivity since the blackout began nearly two weeks ago.
Many following the protests outside Iran told the Post they get only a few minutes to speak with family members inside the country, if at all.
On Sunday, an Iranian official in the region said authorities had verified at least 5,000 deaths during the protests, including around 500 members of the security forces. The official blamed what he described as “terrorists and armed rioters” for the killings, accusing them of attacking civilians and public infrastructure. Human rights organizations and opposition groups have challenged the number, stating the real figures is much higher and could surpass 20,000, though precise figures remain difficult to confirm due to access restrictions.
“Continuing this struggle until final victory is not only a national duty, but a covenant with those who gave their lives on the path to freedom and with their pure blood,” Pahlavi said of the victims of the regime’s crackdown. “Their names will not be forgotten - not in history, not in our national memory, not in our hearts.”
Pahlavi’s latest message was delivered against the backdrop of an unusual breach of Iranian state broadcasting. Anti-regime activists reported on Sunday that they had hacked Iran’s Badr satellite, allowing them to interrupt state television transmissions and broadcast Pahlavi’s message calling for continued resistance to clerical rule.
Footage of the satellite intrusion, later shared by Pahlavi’s media team, appeared to show his message being aired on Iranian state channels, accompanied by Farsi-language slogans encouraging protest, images of solidarity demonstrations held by Iranian diaspora communities abroad, and expressions of support from international figures.
The video broadcast culminated in a recorded statement from Pahlavi, in which he urged Iranians to remain prepared for renewed demonstrations despite the crackdown. He framed the current lull in protests as temporary, warning that the regime was seeking to exhaust the population through fear, repression, and isolation.
Iranian authorities did not immediately comment on the reported satellite breach, though state media later acknowledged “technical disruptions” to broadcasts without specifying their cause.
With communication restricted and protests suppressed, activists and opposition figures say the coming days will be crucial in determining whether the movement can regroup, or whether the security crackdown will succeed in restoring control.