A man who took to the streets in Tehran after then-President Donald Trump promised to “rescue” Iranian protesters was fatally shot during demonstrations, according to reports. His death underscores the despair felt by many Iranians and those in the diaspora following what they perceived as a reversal of support from the U.S.
Trump’s Promises and Subsequent Retreat
Siavash Shirzad, 38, had previously witnessed protests brutally suppressed by Iranian authorities. However, he joined the recent demonstrations after Trump publicly pledged support for the protesters, a first in his experience. Shirzad ignored warnings from his family, reassured by the U.S. president’s words.
Authorities began shooting at protesters, but no assistance materialized. Shirzad was shot on Jan. 8 during a protest in Tehran and died of his wounds hours later, leaving behind a 12-year-old son. The internet was shut off on the same day, plunging Iran into a communications blackout.
“Siavash hoped until the very end that Trump’s help would arrive,” his cousin said, speaking anonymously for fear of repercussions. “We told him: ‘Don’t go, it’s dangerous.’ But he gave a firm answer: ‘Trump said he supports us, I’m going.’”
On Tuesday, Trump urged Iranians to continue protesting and to “take over your institutions,” stating that “help is on its way” as reports of a potential strike on Iran surfaced. However, the following day, Trump reversed course, telling reporters he had received assurances that Iranian authorities would not execute anyone, temporarily stepping back from military intervention.
Protesters in Iran expressed despair at this shift. Despite Trump’s initial reassurances, the killings of demonstrators continued.
The streets of Tehran were largely empty, patrolled by armed security forces in pickup trucks where tens of thousands had marched days prior. Protests continued in provinces outside the capital, but the communications blackout made it difficult to assess their scale.
“Mass arrests are taking place. As soon as Trump’s attention moves elsewhere, the executions will start,” a Tehran resident said in messages forwarded to the Guardian via an activist.
Iran has increased the prosecution of protesters, with state TV broadcasting footage of forced confessions and the chief justice interrogating detainees. Rights groups have warned that protesters are unlikely to receive fair trials and expressed concerns about the conditions of detention.
“Past patterns in Iran demonstrate that periods of widespread unrest are accompanied by heightened abuses inside detention facilities, where these groups are particularly vulnerable to extrajudicial killing, enforced disappearance, torture, and other forms of ill-treatment,” more than 30 rights groups wrote in a joint letter on Thursday.
However, authorities refrained from executing protesters, most notably cancelling the death sentence of 26-year-old Erfan Soltani and announcing no hangings would take place. Trump shared news of Soltani’s reprieve.
Iranians in the diaspora felt betrayed. For two weeks, they watched a brutal crackdown on the streets of Iran. Communication from family was infrequent, and Trump’s statement that “help is on the way” had been their only lifeline.
“As someone living in the diaspora, this feels like a slap in the face,” said Elham, an Iranian living in Sydney. “Iranians have been let down before. This time, there was a sense it was going to be different.”
Iran has doubled down on the prosecution of protesters, with state TV airing footage of forced confessions and Iran’s chief justice interrogating detained protesters. Rights groups warned that protesters would probably not receive fair trials and that they had grave concerns over the conditions in which detainees are held.
Even as US forces pulled back from bases in the Middle East and indicators of a US strike gathered, it was unclear what Trump planned to do in Iran. Though unprecedented, nationwide protests had not threatened the short-term stability of the Iranian state, which has well-armed and trained security forces.
A strike on Iran could trigger retaliation on Israel and the US, without necessarily shielding protesters from harm. Other Iranian analysts warned that US intervention could further the accusation that protests are foreign-backed, without giving meaningful benefit to the demonstrators’ aims.
Nonetheless, Iranians abroad and inside the country hoped that the world would do something to help, even if they were unsure of what.
“The people of Iran believed him. They placed their trust in his words. If he fails to act against this brutal regime, that trust will be broken and the people of Iran will not forget who stood with them, and who turned away,” said Azam Jangravi, an Iranian based in Canada whose close friend was killed in protests in Isfahan last week.
Though Trump appeared to walk back from the brink of a strike, the US has said it had not completely ruled out intervention. Trump “has made it clear all options are on the table to stop the slaughter,” the US ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, told the UN security council on Thursday.
A US aircraft carrier was heading to the Middle East and military assets were being redeployed to bolster Israeli air defences – two indications that a US strike on Iran was still possible.
In Iran, many protesters feel as if they are in limbo. Cut off from the rest of the world and under the heavy boot of authorities, they are unsure if they should take to the streets again.
“The protests have come to a pause, people are waiting to see what Trump will do,” said Alborz, a Tehran resident, in messages forwarded to the Guardian.
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