Staff Reports
Iranians poured into the streets in early January 2026 with a fury that proves tyranny can be shaken when people refuse to live under fear and corruption. What began as protests over economic collapse and crushing inflation quickly morphed into nationwide demonstrations against the clerical elite, forcing many around the world to reckon with a regime that has ruled through repression for decades. Ordinary Iranians are taking unimaginable risks to demand dignity and self-government, and their courage should stir every freedom-loving American.
Video and eyewitness accounts from inside Iran show protesters openly cheering and even chanting “We love Trump” as they faced security crackdowns, a striking sign that decisive American leadership still matters overseas. Those words are not mere celebrity worship; they are a referendum on strength — the instinctive hope that a leader unafraid to confront tyranny will tilt the balance toward liberty. Conservatives should wear that endorsement as a badge of honor, because it underscores the truth we have always known: strength saves lives and causes dictators to hesitate.
The regime tried its usual playbook, shutting down the internet nationwide to choke off organization and hide atrocities, but brave Iranians and clever activists used every tool at their disposal to get footage out to the world. When authoritarian regimes resort to blanket blackouts, it only confirms their guilt and desperation, and it reveals why tech and policy that expand connectivity matter for freedom. Americans who value liberty must support measures that keep authoritarian governments from silencing their own citizens.
Reports of brutal crackdowns, mass arrests, and horrifying civilian casualties make clear that the regime’s days of ruling by fear are numbered unless the international community holds it accountable. The slaughter and mass detentions prove what conservative foreign policy has long warned: appeasement and moral equivocation only empower monsters. If Western democracies refuse to shine a relentless light on these abuses, the cost will be paid in lives and the further erosion of global norms.
President Trump’s blunt warnings that Iran’s leadership should not slaughter protesters without facing severe consequences resonated with many inside Iran and with freedom advocates abroad, because tyrants understand one language: decisive deterrence. Weakness invites cruelty; firmness forces calculation. It is no accident that where America and its allies stand tall, oppressed peoples find the courage to rise — and conservatives should be proud to defend that principle.
Across the globe, diaspora Iranians and freedom supporters rallied in capitals to urge stronger backing for the movement at home, a reminder that liberty has friends and that public pressure works. The patriots in Tehran deserve concrete support from governments that believe in human rights, not lectures from hypocrites who excuse brutality for political convenience. Americans who cherish freedom must demand a foreign policy that backs the brave, exposes the brutal, and gives every Iranian the hope of reclaiming their nation.
