Trump revives Iran regime change speculation with cryptic call for people to ‘rise up’

In this photo obtained by The Associated Press, protesters chant slogans during an anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan.8, 2026.(UGC via AP)

� Peter Doocy asked whether he would send the CIA to arm Iranians if he wants them to “rise up and fight.” 

“I’d love to tell you that, but it wouldn’t be appropriate to say,” Trump responded from the Oval Office.

Trump said he understood why Iranians have not risen in larger numbers, arguing that protesters face deadly repression from the government. 

“Most people can’t kill their own people like that.Most people try and reason when they talk.And then there might be an overthrow.In Iran, they kill people.… They shoot them right between the eyes.They have two forms: machine guns and snipers.… They like the snipers better because all they do is have a crowd of 200,000 people, and a person goes down here right between the eyes, and they’ll have three snipers doing it.And, it’s a horrible thing to watch,” he said. 

“So that’s why it’s not happening,” the president added, “And who can blame them?Who can blame them?But the regime is getting weaker by the day… And at some point, they’re not going to be able to shoot so easily because I think the people aren’t going to take it,” Trump said.“But I did pose that question because, you know, it would be time.”

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COULD IRAN’S REGIME COLLAPSE?EXPERTS ASSESS BESSENT’S BID TO SEVER FINANCIAL LIFELINES

Protesters gather as vehicles burn, amid evolving anti-government unrest, in Tehran, Iran, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video released on Jan.9, 2026.(Social Media/via Reuters)

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described Iran as being in a “death spiral” during remarks Monday, arguing that economic pressure was rapidly narrowing the government’s options.

“They are panicked.They are resorting to kinetic because they are getting squeezed economically,�

Bessent said Iran could eventually face one of three outcomes: “Either the IRGC are going to turn on each other, the people are going to turn on them, or they are going to come to the table and want to do a deal that they can stick with.”

“They are in the death throes,” he added, comparing Iran’s deterioration to bankruptcy occurring “slowly, then quickly.”

“It’s very clear U.S.government is not in the business of regime change anymore,” Maleki said.“And I think it’s very clear that we’re not going to have boots on the ground to invade Iran.And I don’t think we need that.”

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Iranians block a street while gathering during a protest in Tehran, Iran, on Jan.9.(MAHSA / Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Instead, Maleki argued Washington should “contain this regime, cut off its economic lifelines, empower the Iranian people” and prepare foranother wave of demonstrations inside Iran.

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“We need to be prepared to support the Iranian people in a way that they can be empowered and take the government back,” he said, stressing the importance of ensuring protesters maintain access to the internet so they can communicate, mobilize and make their voices heard.

Maleki described Iran’s leadership as the weakest it has been since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and argued that further Iranian military escalation could deepen its vulnerability rather than restore lost leverage.

The debate comes as reports of localized economic protests continue to emerge from inside Iran.

TRUMP SAYS IRAN IS ‘DEAD’ — EXPERTS POINT TO THE REAL SIGN TEHRAN IS NEARING THE BRINK

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An Iranian woman shops in a local market in Tehran, Iran, April 28, 2026.(Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)

TheNational Council of Resistance of Iran, an exiled Iranian opposition coalition, said Tuesday that workers, retirees, drivers and job-seeking young people demonstrated in several cities on Aug.31.The group alleged security forces opened fire on job seekers in Gachsaran and Ahvaz and reported separate demonstrations over unpaid wages, inflation, fuel shortages and working conditions.

“People are hungry,” Sabti said, predicting Iranians would “take the streets again.”

“Hunger is humiliating,” he said, arguing that economic desperation could eventually outweigh fear of the government’s security apparatus.

The political stakes are rising alongside a dramatic military escalation.US forces carried outanother wave of strikes Tuesdayagainst Iranian air-defense systems, radar installations, maritime assets and mine-laying capabilities, according to US Central Command, while Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks against US assets across the region.

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People gather during a protest on January 8, 2026, in Tehran, Iran.Demonstrations have been ongoing since December, triggered by soaring inflation and the collapse of the rial, and have expanded into broader demands for political change.(Anonymous/Getty Images)

For Trump, however, Tuesday night’s post suggested the question may no longer be only whether economic pressure brings Tehran back to negotiations — but what happens inside Iran if it does not.

com/category/world/conflicts" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">conflict, global affairs, human rights and political accountability. She has directed and produced more than 200 documentary segments across more than 40 countries, documenting conflicts, humanitarian crises, corruption, human trafficking, gender-based violence and the human stories behind major world events. 

Lachter’s reporting has taken her into conflict zones and crisis areas across the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Africa.Her work has included uncovering human trafficking networks, revealing an ISIS underground torture prison in Syria, documenting thewar in Ukraine and interviewing senior political figures and world leaders.She was also among the Western journalists who entered Russia after the war began to bring testimonies from Putin’s opposition.Lachter is the recipient of the 2022 Peres Center for Peace Award and was a 2023–2024 Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellow at the University of Michigan.She also won two Rockower Awards for Excellence in Reporting.She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication and a master’s degree in political science.