Anti-government protests have gripped Iran for nearly a week in the most sustained challenge to the Islamic Republic’s clerical elite in almost a decade.

"TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SHOULD ENCOURAGE US TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES"

In an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, Reza Pahlavi, the son of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the overthrown shah of Iran, said the Trump administration should encourage US technology companies to provide communication services to Iranians as they protest their country’s clerical rulers.

Pahlavi said he wants to see Iranians “determine their own fate out of their own free will” and praised US President Donald Trump and members of his cabinet for speaking in support of Iranian protesters.

"WE NEED MORE THAN LIP SERVICE"

He said they also should take steps to ensure that Iranians have access to communication and social media tools, which they have used to share videos and messages documenting protests and clashes with security forces.

Pahlavi, in his interview, gave a message to President Hassan Rouhani by saying “We need more than lip service. We need to see concrete actions. This has to be immediate ... As we speak, the regime is attempting yet again to try to shut down whatever it is, whether it’s Instagram or Telegram.”