U.S. President Donald Trump explicitly warned Iran once again that if Iranian protesters were killed, the U.S. was fully prepared to strike. He repeated and expanded on that threat on January 8, 2026, telling conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt in an interview that he had made it clear to Tehran that if its authorities started killing protesters, “we are going to hit them very hard,” and that Iran would “have hell to pay” if it used lethal force.
Earlier, on January 2, 2026, on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump had stated that if the Iranian government “violently kills peaceful protesters,” the United States of America would “come to their rescue,” adding that the U.S. was “locked and loaded and ready to go.” In response, Iranian officials warned against U.S. interference and threatened preemptive military action against the United States should Washington act on those threats.
It is noteworthy that in Iran’s 47-year history, there has not been such a large-scale protest spanning 27 of its 31 provinces. The protests were sparked primarily by an acute economic crisis marked by a rapidly collapsing rial, soaring inflation, and rising costs of basic goods, which deeply affected livelihoods and purchasing power, and allegedly, the protesters are using this economic crisis as a pretext to demand freedom of expression and the abolition of the Supreme Leader–centered political system, which is equivalent to calling for the overthrow of the current government. Since Ayatollah Khomeini’s revolution in 1979, the Iranian government has faced two major multifaceted movements and nationwide protests. The 2019 protests were triggered by a sudden fuel price hike, and the 2022–2023 Woman, Life, Freedom protests began after the death of Mahsa Amini in custody. In both protests, hundreds of demonstrators, including women and youths, were killed by Iranian security forces.
It is worth mentioning that during both nationwide protests, no country—including the U.S. and Israel—openly threatened Iran with an attack in violation of international law, despite the hundreds of deaths. However, after the successful U.S. operation in Venezuela, Donald Trump openly threatened Iran regarding the protesters, disregarding international law. Currently, Iran faces two major challenges: internal unrest and the increasing threat of an external attack. The international community is also well aware that in the past, the U.S., in coordination with the CIA, attempted regime change in Iran through intelligence operations, which did not reach fruition, while over the past five decades, the U.S. has successfully carried out multiple secret operations to change regimes in other countries.
In the recent past, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in the context of a potential attack on Iran, addressed the Iranian people directly on June 14, 2025, saying that this fight is not against them. “Israel’s fight is not with you, the Iranian people; our fight is with the murderous regime that oppresses and impoverishes you. The time has come for the Iranian people to stand up for freedom from the evil and oppressive regime in Tehran. This is your opportunity to let your voices be heard. Do not lose hope. You are not alone—Israel and the free world stand with you.”
However, the Iranian people, with thousands of years of history and strong patriotic sentiment, who previously disagreed with the government, refrained from regime change out of solidarity in the face of the threat of war. But now, it seems that while the economic drivers of internal unrest remain, Israel and the U.S. are increasingly emboldening the protesters, which may explain why the protests show no sign of abating. It now appears that an American attack on Iran may be inevitable in the coming weeks or months.
An important question arises: if an attack on Iran occurs, what challenges will Pakistan face, and will Pakistan be prepared to cope with its consequences, or, as in the past, will our rulers continue to remain indifferent? Certainly, the attack on Venezuela has opened a Pandora’s box, and following this trajectory, Israel and the U.S. appear likely to attack Iran soon. International law and the United Nations Charter are increasingly ineffective, which is why operations like Venezuela’s are recognized so boldly, and the U.S. sees no problem in acts such as the piracy of Russian-flagged vessels.
Earlier, in his address at the emergency UN Security Council meeting on the U.S. attack on Venezuela, Pakistan’s Acting Permanent Representative Usman Jadoon stated that the world is already facing multiple crises. The U.S.’s unilateral military action violates these sacred principles and the doctrine of state immunity, and such actions set a dangerous precedent that could weaken the foundations of the global legal framework. At the meeting, two countries, including Argentina, expressed support for the U.S., while countries that openly condemned the U.S. action as illegal included Russia, Germany, Canada, Italy, Australia, South Africa, China, Iran, Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, France, and Colombia. Countries that took a cautious or balanced stance included Pakistan, the United Kingdom, Paraguay, and Spain.
The international community must act with prudence and collective resolve to restrain the aggressive expansionist ambitions of countries such as the United States and Israel and their intrusive interventions in the affairs of other nations; otherwise, countries like Pakistan could be unjustly drawn into far-reaching and destabilizing consequences through no fault of their own.
