WASHINGTON — The repressive Iranian regime is likely in its “final days and weeks,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz dramatically predicted Tuesday — as shocking images emerged of thousands killed in a bloody crackdown by Tehran.
“If a regime can only keep itself in power by force, then it’s effectively at the end. I believe we are now seeing the final days and weeks of this regime,” Merz told reporters during a trip to India.
“In any case, it has no legitimacy through elections in the population. The population is now rising up against this regime.”
Merz, 70, is the first world leader to publicly predict the imminent fall of the Shiite theocracy that has governed Iran since overthrowing Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1979.
Mass protests erupted across Iran Dec. 28 in response to a growing inflation crisis, currency depreciation, and higher food prices, among other gripes.
A top Iranian official has publicly acknowledged that the death toll has risen to 2,000 protesters, Reuters reported, suggesting that the true number of those killed is even higher.
Another 10,721 Iranians have been detained by authorities, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which relies on a network of activists inside Iran for its reporting.
Some eyewitnesses have claimed that the regime has slaughtered civilians who weren’t even involved with the protests.
The demonstrations rocking the Islamic Republic are believed to be the largest the country has seen since at least 2022, dwarfing other uprisings in 1999, 2009, and 2019.
President Trump on Monday threatened to impose a 25% tariff on imports from countries that continue to do business in Iran as the regime continues its repression against protesters.
On Jan. 2, Trump warned: “If Iran [shoots] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue.”
“We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”
Now the president is mulling potential next steps, telling reporters Sunday that Iran’s leaders “want to negotiate,” but “we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting.”
A growing bipartisan chorus of lawmakers on Capitol Hill has encouraged Trump to take action against Iran, up to and including an additional round of airstrikes following US and Israeli attacks on the country’s nuclear capabilities.
High-ranking officials in Iran, such as parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, have vowed to teach Trump an “unforgettable lesson” if he strikes the country.
