Exiled Iranian political figure Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s last Shah, has publicly expressed support for the ongoing protests in the country. Taking to X, he praised the demonstrators and described those killed by the regime as “the true champions of this land.” His message, which called for continued resistance, was widely shared and added momentum to the growing online campaign backing the protesters.
While much of the world welcomed the New Year with celebrations and fireworks, Iran witnessed a surge of unrest as demonstrations erupted in several cities. The protests were triggered by a sharp fall in the value of the Iranian rial and rising prices that have intensified economic hardship. At the same time, a large-scale online movement under the banner “Free Iran” gained traction on social media platforms, particularly X, with users from the United States, the United Kingdom, and other Western nations amplifying calls against the Iranian government.
An analysis conducted by the India Today OSINT team revealed the scale of this digital movement. Over the past seven days, more than 270,000 posts containing the phrase “Free Iran” were recorded. Of these, approximately 82,000 originated from the United States and nearly 18,000 from the United Kingdom, according to data compiled using the social media analytics platform Talkwalker. The findings suggest that much of the online activity is being driven from outside Iran, a pattern commonly observed in geopolitically sensitive digital campaigns.
In addition to #FreeIran, several other hashtags have gained popularity, including #WestWithIran, #IranRevolution, #FreeIran2026, and #IRGCTerrorist. Each of these tags reflects different political narratives surrounding the unrest, ranging from demands for systemic change to calls for international pressure on Iran’s leadership.
The current wave of protests began on December 29, when shopkeepers, traders, and students took to the streets following a steep fall in the Iranian currency to record lows against the US dollar. The economic downturn, marked by soaring inflation and shrinking purchasing power, initially sparked the demonstrations. However, the movement quickly evolved into broader political dissent, with protesters openly criticizing the country’s leadership and using slogans such as #No2ShahNo2Mullahs to reject both past and present forms of authoritarian rule.
The online campaign has also received support from political figures abroad. Former US President Donald Trump posted a message on his platform Truth Social warning Tehran against using violence on demonstrators. He stated that if peaceful protesters were harmed, the United States would respond, a message that was widely circulated among pro-protest groups online and added further intensity to the digital discourse.
Reza Pahlavi’s intervention further amplified the movement. In his message, he praised those killed during the protests and called them heroes of the nation. His supporters flooded social media with posts advocating for a secular and democratic future for Iran, with many framing the protests as a pivotal moment for political change.
Even Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs joined the online conversation, using its official Persian-language account on X to post messages encouraging Iranian demonstrators. This added another international dimension to the unfolding situation and underscored the level of global attention the protests have attracted.
Meanwhile, journalists attempting to report on the unrest have faced increasing risks. In one reported case, the wife of Mehdi Beik, a political editor at the Iranian newspaper Etemad, posted on X that her husband went missing after leaving to cover protests in Tehran’s bazaar area. The incident has raised fresh concerns about press freedom and the safety of journalists covering the unrest within Iran.
