Mounting unrest inside Iran is triggering visible fear within the ruling regime, including efforts by elites to move assets out of the country as protests continue and economic conditions deteriorate, Walid Phares, former foreign policy adviser to President Donald Trump, said Friday.
In an appearance on Newsmax's "Greg Kelly Reports," Phares weighed in on escalating protests in Iran and President Donald Trump's warning that the United States would intervene if Iranian authorities violently suppress demonstrators.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social Friday that 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."
Asked whether such language deters Tehran or risks escalating tensions, Phares said the message is being felt most acutely inside the regime itself.
"The real people inside the regime, inside Iran is deterred, are concerned. Some of them are afraid," he said. "We even, you know, detected that they're trying to send some of their valuables outside Iran.
"This happened in 2009, but this time it's much stronger.
"There were multiple waves. This is not an overnight revolution that did not exist.
"So this is people with four generations now pushing for freedom in addition to, you know, the economic collapse that's happening in Iran. But this is about freedom.
He added that the tensions felt more serious, "and what tells us that it's very serious: The Wall Street of Iran, the financial centers of Iran, the bazaar has moved."
"And that's a very important sign."
Phares said the movement of financial centers and the historic bazaars reflects deep concern among Iran's power brokers, signaling that unrest is no longer confined to isolated protests but is affecting the country's economic core.
His comments came as Iran's Foreign Ministry issued a sharp warning to Washington, saying the United States would bear "full responsibility for the consequences" of any intervention related to the protests.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns the interventionist statements of the President and other US officials regarding Iran's internal affairs," Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi wrote Friday in a post on Telegram.
Iran has faced recurring waves of unrest in recent years, driven by economic strain, political repression, and demands for greater personal freedoms.
Phares said the current moment is distinct, pointing to sustained pressure from multiple generations and worsening economic conditions that have compounded dissatisfaction with the ruling system.
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