Ted Cruz urges arming protesters as Iranians describe helplessness

“There is absolutely no way for us to gather unless we have weapons.”

By World Israel News Staff

Sen. Ted Cruz on Tuesday called for arming protesters in Iran, arguing that the Iranian public has been left defenseless as the regime intensifies its violent crackdown and outside pressure has yet to translate into real help on the ground.

“We should be arming the protesters in Iran. NOW,” Cruz wrote in a post on X. He said that allowing the Iranian people to overthrow Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei would make the United States “much, much safer,” pointing to Tehran’s long-standing hostility toward Washington.

Cruz was responding to a post from the Tehran Bureau that relayed a harrowing account from inside Iran, describing what the source said was the near-total collapse of public protest under extreme violence.

The source said security forces were firing directly at demonstrators and that going into the streets had become “literal suicide,” adding, “There is absolutely no way for us to gather unless we had weapons.” The message pleaded with Iranians abroad not to abandon protests overseas, warning that inside Iran “we cannot do anything anymore” as killings mounted and fear spread through cities and small towns alike.

Other accounts from inside Iran paint a similarly bleak picture. In an interview aired on Israel’s N12, a woman identified as Saeedeh from Mashhad described treating protesters who arrived at hospitals weeks after being wounded, too afraid to seek help earlier. She said plainclothes security personnel were present inside hospitals, compiling names, while families quietly searched for social assistance after losing children to the violence.

Another resident, Suna from Tehran, told N12 that scenes on the streets have become unbearable. “We are witnessing horrors,” she said. “To see blood still on the asphalt, to see shoes and clothes of children who will never be coming home – it breaks your heart.”

She described the heavy presence of security forces, riot police, Basij units, and Revolutionary Guards, saying vehicles and phones are routinely checked and even the smallest sign of protest is met with extreme violence. “I am stuck in a constant state of anxiety,” she said.

Human rights groups and opposition activists say the death toll from the crackdown has surged into the tens of thousands, despite Iranian authorities reporting just over 3,000 fatalities. Medical sources cited by international media have described mass killings over short periods in January, followed by nationwide internet shutdowns and severe restrictions on communications that further isolated protesters.

The growing sense of helplessness has contrasted sharply with rhetoric from Washington. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump publicly encouraged Iranians to keep protesting and said “help is on the way,” while more recently highlighting a major U.S. military buildup near Iran as a warning to Tehran. So far, however, those signals have not translated into direct assistance for protesters.

Cruz’s comments captured a widening gap between forceful statements abroad and the reality inside Iran. As protests are crushed and fear spreads through streets and hospitals alike, voices from within the country continue to describe a population left exposed, facing heavily armed security forces with little more than their own resolve.