Swedish MEP urges EU's foreign affairs chief to meet Prince Pahlavi

Exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi commended widespread protests across Iran on Wednesday, calling them "unparalleled" and a sign of readiness for Thursday's planned 8 PM action.

“Reports have reached us that the regime is terribly frightened and is trying to cut off the internet once again,” Pahlavi posted a video message on Wednesday on X.

“Know that our communication will not be cut off; whether through hundreds of thousands of Starlink devices in Iran, or through the networks of Iran International and Manoto,” he added.

A senior US senator warned that Iranian threats against the United States have “not worked well” under President Donald Trump, as Washington responds to escalatory rhetoric from Tehran.

“Threatening the United States while Donald Trump is President has not worked well for anyone, especially Iran,” Republican Senator Jim Risch, chairman of Senate Foreign Relations, posted on X on Wednesday.

The Balochistan People’s Party, an Iranian Baloch political group, urged people in Sistan and Baluchistan province in southeastern Iran to join nationwide protests and strikes, calling for coordinated action with demonstrators across the country.

“Active participation in nationwide protests and strikes is not a political choice, but a historical necessity in order to achieve freedom, justice, and a dignified life,” the group said in a statement on Wednesday.

"It is imperative that the people of the province act in unity with other parts of Iran in their chosen slogans and display a magnificent manifestation of nationwide solidarity," the statement added.

Iran's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday issued a statement calling US comments on protests in the country as “interventionist” and “aimed at inciting unrest.”

“Such stances are not motivated by sympathy for the Iranian people but are part of the US policy of maximum pressure, threats, and interference in Iran's internal affairs, aimed at inciting violence, terrorism, and creating unrest and insecurity in the country,” the statement said.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran, in accordance with principles stipulated in its constitution, recognizes peaceful protests and makes no effort to stop addressing the legitimate demands of the people within the framework of law,” the statement said.

“While emphasizing the importance of taking necessary measures to reduce economic hardships, it is clarified that a significant portion of these problems stem from the all-out economic and financial war waged by America against the Iranian nation in the form of unlawful and unjust sanctions,” it added.

Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar said Iran's government is responding to anti-regime demonstrations with mass arrests and violence, though she suggested such measures will ultimately fail.

"In 257 locations across 88 cities and 27 provinces, the people of Iran are demanding freedom from the Ayatollah and as usual, the regime silences, tortures and imprisons," the Republican House member from Florida posted on X on Wednesday.

"Like those resisting tyranny in Cuba and Venezuela, they are fighting for the freedom, liberty, and end to oppression they deserve," she added. “People of Iran demanding freedom.”