Iran’s state media has blasted the Trump administration as hypocritical, drawing a direct comparison between the recent protests inside the Islamic Republic and the ongoing unrest ignited by the controversial ICE shootings in Minneapolis.
Iran has seized on the latest fatal shooting of Alex Prettio, arguing that President Trump has no moral standing to condemn how Iranian authorities have handled its own nationwide demonstrations, which were triggered by economic strain and a collapsing currency after years of US-imposed sanctions.
State-backed Press TV pointed to Trump’s earlier public call for Iranians to rise up and take to the streets while pointing to the current Minneapolis demonstrations as “instant karma”.
Newsweek observed several fresh broadcasts from Iranian outlets drawing on the comparison:
While these protests were largely peaceful, Iranian state news channel Press TV dedicated a segment in which it presented them as the latest iteration of the anger at the actions of ICE.
The presenter on Press TV, Roya Pour Bagher, referred to social media posts by Americans expressing outrage at the killing, and described “growing fears of an imminent civil conflict—yes a civil war in the United States.”
In a separate clip, Bagher said that footage of Pretti’s killing clearly showed he did not pose a threat to anyone, adding that more protests could help stop the killings.
This has been the theme across pro-Tehran social media as well:
Iran’s state TV channel Press TV: “Calls on social media demanding Trump’s removal before the US is pushed into the unknown are growing louder, as crimes by ICE against civilians continue to rise.”
Iranian outlet Press TV: “Instant karma? Trump: Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING—TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!”
There’s actually some truth here in the way US officials and media portray things whenever there’s a protest inside Iran, or any nation deemed a ‘rogue’ state for that matter: all demonstrations no matter how small or varied in terms of the protesters’ actual motives tend to get treated as somehow “pro-Western democracy” in nature, or else as if the “regime” is always on the brink of collapse.
And then there are always the familiar calls by American politicians and pundits of the ‘Ayatollah must go’ or this or that dictator must go. Western mainstream media is also notorious for grossly oversimplifying complex dynamics behind foreign events and protest movements.
Tehran officials and state media have also of late been saying the Iranian protests that kicked off on December 27, but which last week finally ended, were quickly “hijacked” by foreign powers and interests. For example the below fresh PressTV commentary says:
In an interview with the Press TV website, Nury Vittachi, a Hong Kong-based journalist, author, and political commentator, said the deadly unrest and acts of terrorism in Iran in recent weeks bore the unmistakable signs of a coordinated campaign orchestrated by the United States and Israel.
“There is no doubt that there was heavy involvement from foreign forces during the riots. I have seen this same procedure in many locations,” he stated.
A protest light display was projected onto an ICE detention center in Los Angeles, California, depicting an ICE officer shooting at humanity, democracy, rights, and freedoms.
Follow: https://t.co/7Dg3b41hTx pic.twitter.com/cdwoCEv631
— PressTV Extra (@PresstvExtra) January 26, 2026
Thousands were killed, among them at least dozens or possibly even hundreds of police, security personnel, and pro-government people. But the majority of casualties were clearly on the anti-government side, as even Iran state sources have lately appeared to admit.
The West accuses Iran of often firing on unarmed protesters, while the Islamic Republic has retorted that there was an armed insurrection in tandem with those who went to the streets peacefully – creating a more murky, complex series of bloody clashes with the police and military.
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